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MOROCCO 


Negro  Village  near  the  Borders 
of  the  Desert 


EDITION  ARTISTIQVE 


antr 


MOROCCO 


BY 


EDMONDO  DE  AMICIS 


Translated 

by  Maria  Hornor  Lansdale 


3Tn  <Ttuo  tblumrs 
Volume  l. 


MERRILL     AND     BAKER 
New  York  London 


THIS  EDITION  ARTISTIQUE  OF  THE  WORLD'S 
FAMOUS  PLACES  AND  PEOPLES  IS  LIMITED 
TO  ONE  THOUSAND  NUMBERED  AND  REGIS- 
TERED  COPIES,  OF  WHICH  THIS  COPY  IS 
NO... 


Copyright,  Henry  T.  Coates  &  Co.,  i8<»7 


CONTENTS 

VOLUME  I 


PAGE 

TANGIER 1 

HADD-EL-GHARBIA 89 

TLATA  DE  EAISANA 127 

ALCAZAR  EL  KEBIR 145 

BEN-AOUDA 161 

KARIYA  EL-HABASSI 177 

BENI-HASSAN 197 

SIDI-HASSEM 217 

ZEGQOTA 229 

FROM  ZEGGOTA.  TO  TGH'AT .  245 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOIvUME  I 


NEGRO  VILLAGE  NEAR  THE  BORDERS  OF  THE 

DESERT      .....  Frontispiece 
NOMADS  FROM  THE  INTERIOR  .  .  .18 

A  MOORISH  JEWESS       .          .          .  .          .26 

VIEW  FROM  THE  KASBAH         .  .  .  .40 

MOSOUE  OF  THE  AlSSOWIEH    .  .  .  -52 

LIGHTHOUSE,  CAPE  SPARTEI,  .  .  72 

SOK  DI  BARRA,  TANGIER         .  .  .  .86 

MOUNTAIN  AND  VAUEY  IN  THE  INTERIOR  .  .      108 

NATIVES  WASHING  CLOTHES  IN  A  RIVER     .  .      148 

A  GARDEN  IN  MOROCCO  .  .  .  .166 

MOORISH  GATEWAY        .  .  .  .  .182 

A  SOLDIER  OF  THE  SUI/TAN    ....      220 
ON  THE  WAY  TO  MARKET       ....      248 
A. 


TANGIER 


Voi.  L— 1 


TANGIER. 


OF  all  straits  in  the  world,  that  of  Gibraltar  divides, 
perhaps  more  completely  than  any  other,  two  strik- 
ingly dissimilar  countries,  and  this  unlikeness  is  the 
more  noticeable  on  the  outward  trip  from  Gibraltar. 
Here  still  ferments  the  noisy,  feverish,  brilliant  life 
of  a  European  city,  and  the  traveller,  from  whatever 
quarter  of  Europe  he  may  hail,  yet  feels  himself  at 
home  in  numberless  familiar  customs  and  aspects  of 
life. 

Three  hours  later,  and  the  very  name  of  our  Con- 
tinent sounds  strange  ;  Christian  signifies  enemy,  and 
our  civilization  is  unknown,  or  feared,  or  scoffed  at. 
Everything,  from  the  very  foundations  of  society  to 
the  most  trifling  details  of  private  life,  is  metamor- 
phosed, and  all  indication  of  the  close  proximity  of 
Europe  has  completely  disappeared.  We  suddenly 
find  ourselves  in  an  unknown  land,  without  ties  of 
any  kind,  and  with  everything  to  learn.  To  be  sure 
the  European  coast  is  still  visible  from  the  shore,  but 
in  our  hearts  there  is  a  consciousness  of  immeasurable 
distance,  as  though  that  narrow  strip  of  water  were 
an  ocean,  those  blue,  distant  hills  a  delusion. 

(3) 


4  TANGIER. 

In  the  brief  space  of  three  hours  a  transformation 
has  taken  place  in  our  surroundings  than  which 
nothing  more  astounding  can  be  witnessed  on  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

The  emotion  that  one  might  naturally  expect  to 
feel,  however,  on  setting  foot  for  the  first  time  on 
that  vast,  mysterious  continent,  which  from  earliest 
childhood  has  haunted  the  imagination,  is  sadly  dis- 
turbed by  the  fashion  in  which  the  landing  is  accom- 
plished. Just  as  the  white  houses  of  Tangier  began 
to  be  plainly  visible  from  the  steamer's  deck,  a  Span- 
ish lady  standing  behind  me  cried  out,  "  What  can 
those  people  want  ?"  Following  the  direction  of  her 
outstretched  finger  I  saw,  beyond  the  boats  which 
were  coming  to  take  the  passengers  off,  a  crowd  of 
ragged,  half-naked  Arabs  standing  waist-high  in 
water,  and  pointing  the  vessel  out  to  one  another  with 
excited  gestures,  like  so  many  lunatics,  or  rather  like 
a  troop  of  brigands  exclaiming,  "  There  is  our  prey  I" 
Feeling  slightly  uneasy  in  my  mind,  not  knowing 
who  they  were,  nor  what  they  wanted,  I  descended 
into  the  boat,  with  a  number  of  my  fellow-passengers. 
When  we  were  still  about  twenty  feet  from  shore 
the  entire  rabble  fell  on  us,  laying  violent  hands 
upon  us,  and  screaming  in  Arabic  and  Spanish,  until 
we  finally  understood  that,  the  water  being  too  shal- 
low to  take  the  boats  in  any  further,  we  were  ex- 
pected to  effect  a  landing  upon  their  backs ;  news 
which  while  it  quieted  our  fears  of  losing  any  of  our 


TANGIEE.  5 

own  belongings,  aroused  no  less  lively  ones  of  acquir- 
ing some  of  theirs  in  the  form  of  vermin.  The  ladies 
were  taken  off  in  chairs,  in  a  sort  of  triumphal  pro- 
cession, while  I  made  my  entry  into  Africa  astride  of 
an  old  mulatto,  my  chin  resting  on  the  crown  of  his 
head  and  my  toes  trailing  through  the  water.  On 
reaching  dry  land  my  mulatto  handed  me  over  to  an 
Arab  porter,  who,  leading  the  way  through  one  of  the 
city  gates,  conducted  me  rapidly  along  a  narrow,  de- 
serted street  to  a  hotel  close  by,  whence  I  lost  no 
time  in  setting  forth,  accompanied  by  a  guide,  to  visit 
the  more  frequented  thoroughfares. 

The  first  thing  that  impressed  me — and  that  more 
strongly  than  I  can  give  any  idea  of — was  the  out- 
ward appearance  of  the  population.  Everyone  wears 
a  long  white  linen  or  woollen  cape,  furnished  with  a 
hood,  which  in  most  cases  is  drawn  over  the  head,  so 
that  the  entire  city  has  somewhat  the  look  of  a  vast 
monastery  of  Dominican  monks.  Of  this  shrouded 
population  the  one-half  moves  about  slowly,  noise- 
lessly, sedately,  almost  as  though  trying  to  escape 
observation,  and  the  other  remains  either  seated  or 
stretched  at  full  length  along  the  walls,  before  the 
shops,  or  in  the  angles  of  the  buildings,  immovable, 
with  fixed  gaze,  like  the  petrified  characters  in  their 
own  legends.  Their  walk,  bearing,  very  manner  of 
looking,  is  strange  to  us ;  everything  reveals  a  habit 
of  thought,  an  order  of  things  totally  unlike  our  own ; 
an  altogether  different  way  of  regarding  time  and 


6  TANGIER. 

human  life.  These  people  do  not  seem  to  be  preoc- 
cupied with  their  own  affairs,  neither  do  they  concern 
themselves  with  their  immediate  surroundings  nor 
with  what  goes  on  about  them.  They  all  have  a 
vague,  absent-minded  expression,  as  though  possessed 
by  a  fixed  idea,  or  like  persons  reflecting  upon  dis- 
tant scenes,  or  remote  periods  of  time — dreaming,  as 
it  were,  with  open  eyes.  No  sooner,  too,  had  I 
mingled  with  them  a  little  than  I  became  aware  of  a 
peculiar  odor  quite  unlike  anything  I  had  ever 
noticed  in  a  European  crowd — a  smell  unknown, 
far  from  agreeable,  and  yet  none  the  less  inhaled 
by  me  with  a  keen  curiosity,  as  though  I  hoped 
to  discover  in  it  the  clew  to  some  of  the  surround- 
ing mystery.  As  I  approached  nearer,  the  popu- 
lation, which  at  a  short  distance  had  seemed  to  be 
so  entirely  uniform,  began  to  present  a  strange 
variety  of  types.  White,  black,  yellow,  bronze  faces 
passed  close  by  me ;  heads  from  which  long  locks  of 
hair  depended,  and  others  close  shaved  and  polished 
till  they  shone  like  metal  balls  j  men  looking  like 
dried-up  mummies,  and  old  people  in  whom  age 
was  horrible ;  women  whose  heads,  and,  indeed,  en- 
tire persons,  were  enveloped  in  shapeless  masses  of 
rags ;  long-haired  children,  faces  of  sultans,  savages, 
wizards,  anchorites,  bandits  ;  of  a  people  weighed 
down  by  a  boundless  melancholy  or  unutterable 
weariness,  and  on  few  or  none  a  smile  j  following  one 
another  with  measured  tread,  silent,  spectral,  like  a 


TANGIEE.  7 

procession  of  spirits  seen  flitting  down  the  path  of  a 
graveyard.  I  hardly  know  why,  but  as  I  looked  I 
suddenly  felt  compelled  to  turn  my  gaze  upon  myself 
and  to  say,  inwardly,  li  I  am  so  and  so,  of  such  and 
such  a  place,  this  is  Africa  where  I  am  now,  and 
those  people  are  Arabs,"  and  think  about  it  for  a  few 
moments  before  I  could  get  the  idea  firmly  fixed  in 
my  mind  j  this  accomplished,  I  began  a  tour  of 
some  of  the  other  streets. 

The  city  corresponds  to  the  character  of  its  inhabit- 
ants. It  is  a  labyrinth  of  narrow,  tortuous  lanes, 
or  rather  passage-ways,  flanked  by  small,  square, 
white  houses,  devoid  of  windows,  and  whose  soli- 
tary doors  barely  admit  the  passage  of  one  person 
at  a  time — houses  seemingly  built  more  for  conceal- 
ment than  as  habitations,  and  whose  outward  appear- 
ance suggests  a  cross  between  a  prison  and  a  convent. 
In  many  of  the  streets  nothing  can  be  seen  but  the 
white  of  the  buildings  and  the  blue  of  the  sky ;  from 
time  to  time  there  is  a  little  Moorish  arch  or  two,  now 
and  then  an  arabesqued  window,  a  strip  of  red  along 
the  foot  of  the  wall,  or  a  black  hand  painted  beside  a 
door-way  to  drive  off  evil  spirits.  Almost  all  the 
streets  are  littered  with  decayed  vegetables,  feathers, 
rags,  bones,  and  sometimes  the  bodies  of  dead  animals 
poison  the  air.  For  long  distances  no  one  at  all  is  to 
be  seen,  then  an  occasional  group  of  hooded  Arab 
boys  playing  or  reciting  verses  from  the  Koran  in 
shrill,  nasal  tones,  a  beggar  stretched  on  the  ground, 


8  TANGIEE. 

a  Moor  astride  of  a  mule,  an  overloaded  donkey  with 
bleeding  flanks  driven  by  a  half-naked  Arab,  scarred 
dogs  without  tails,  and  cats  thin  beyond  belief.  Now 
and  then  in  passing  one  catches  a  whiff  of  garlic,  of 
smoke  from  the  Kiffy  the  smell  of  burning  aloe-wood, 
of  benzoin,  of  fish.  And  thus  wandering  on  the 
whole  city  is  traversed,  presenting  everywhere  the 
same  unvarying,  dazzling  whiteness,  the  same  aspect 
of  mystery,  of  melancholy  and  of  utter  weariness. 

After  making  a  brief  circuit  I  returned  to  the  prin- 
cipal, indeed  the  only,  square  of  Tangier,  divided  by 
a  long  street  which,  ascending  from  the  water,  crosses 
the  entire  city.  The  square  is  surrounded  by  wretched 
little  Arab  shops,  which  would  look  poor  and  forlorn 
in  one  of  our  smallest  villages.  On  one  side  stands  a 
fountain  always  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  Arabs  and 
negroes,  drawing  water  in  gourds  and  jugs  5  on  the 
other  may  be  seen,  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  eight  or 
ten  women,  seated  on  the  ground  with  muffled  heads, 
engaged  in  selling  bread.  About  the  square  stand 
the  exceedingly  modest  establishments  of  the  foreign 
legations,  which,  however,  rear  themselves  like  palaces 
amid  their  surroundings  of  little  Moorish  houses.  In 
this  small  space  is  concentrated  all  the  life  of  Tangier, 
which  at  best  is  but  the  life  of  a  village.  Hard  by 
may  be  found  the  solitary  tobacconist  of  the  place, 
the  solitary  druggist,  the  solitary  cafe — a  large  room 
containing  a  billiard  table — and  the  solitary  corner 
where  one  may  occasionally  expect  to  see  a  notice 


TANGIER. 

posted  up.  There  assemble  half-naked  ragamuffins, 
rich  Moors  with  nothing  to  do,  Jews  come  to  discuss 
questions  of  trade,  Arab  porters  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  the  steamer,  legation  attaches  longing  for  the  din- 
ner hour,  strangers  just  landed,  interpreters,  beggars. 
There  the  courier  bringing  the  Sultan's  commands 
from  Fez,  or  Mequinez,  or  Morocco,  jostles  the  ser- 
vant returning  from  the  post  with  Paris  and  London 
newspapers.  There  mingle  belles  of  the  harem  and 
minister's  wives,  Bedouins'  camels  and  drawing-room 
lap-dogs,  turbans,  stiff  hats,  the  loud  notes  of  a  piano 
issuing  from  the  window  of  a  consulate  and  the  wail- 
ing sing-song  heard  through  the  Mosque's  half-open 
door.  It  is  on  this  spot  that  the  last  billow  of  Euro- 
pean civilization  breaks  and  dissolves  before  the 
mighty  Dead  Sea  of  African  barbarism. 

From  the  square  I  remounted  the  principal  street, 
and  passing  through  two  ancient  gateways  found  my- 
self outside  the  city  walls  just  as  dusk  was  beginning 
to  fall.  Before  me  lay  a  large  open  space  covering 
the  side  of  a  hill.  This  is  called  the  Sok  di  Barra, — 
outer  or  upper  market, — because  market  is  held  there 
every  Sunday  and  Thursday.  Of  all  the  spots  in 
and  about  Tangier  visited  by  me,  this  was  perhaps 
the  one  that  most  vividly  impressed  upon  my  mind 
the  character  of  its  people.  It  is  a  bare,  rough,  un- 
even stretch  of  ground  ;  half  way  up  the  incline  rise 
the  four  white  walls  of  a  saint's  tomb,  on  the  summit 
stands  a  cemetery,  beyond  may  be  seen  a  few  aloe 


10  TANGIER 

and  Indian  fig-trees,  and  below,  the  battlemented 
walls  of  the  city.  At  this  particular  moment  a  group 
of  Arab  women  were  squatted  on  the  ground  close  by 
the  gate,  with  bunches  of  herbs  lying  before  them;  a 
long  line  of  camels  crouched  by  the  tomb,  further  on 
rose  the  dark  outlines  of  half  a  dozen  tents,  hard  by 
some  Arabs  sat  in  a  fascinated  circle  listening  to  a 
story-teller,  who  stood  erect  in  the  centre  to  recount 
his  tale  ;  cows  and  horses  were  tethered  about ;  on  the 
hill-top,  among  the  stones  and  mounds  of  the  ceme- 
tery, other  Arabs  stood,  motionless  as  statues,  with 
faces  turned  towards  the  city,  figures  all  in  shadow, 
and  peaked  hoods  sharply  defined  against  the  pale 
gold  of  the  horizon ;  and  over  all  this  scene  a  sombre- 
ness  of  color,  a  silence  and  gloom,  that  cannot  be 
described,  unless  indeed  the  words  were  murmured 
one  by  one  in  the  listener's  ear,  as  though  they  con- 
tained some  momentous  secret. 

The  guide  aroused  me  at  last  from  my  reverie  and 
escorted  me  back  to  the  hotel,  where  my  usual  dis- 
like to  being  among  entire  strangers  was  for  the  first 
time  in  my  life  mitigated  by  the  circumstance  of 
their  being  all  Europeans,  Christians,  and  clad  like 
myself.  There  were  about  twenty  persons  seated 
at  table,  of  both  sexes  and  various  nationalities, 
offering  in  themselves  a  pretty  fair  example  of  that 
strange  mingling  of  families  and  interests  which  pre- 
vails in  those  parts.  A  Frenchman  born  in  Algiers 
married  to  an  Englishwoman  of  Gibraltar ;  a  Spaniard 


TANGIEE.  11 

from  Gibraltar  married  to  the  sister  of  a  Portuguese 
consul  from  the  Atlantic  coast ;  an  elderly  English- 
man accompanied  by  a  daughter  born  in  Tangier  and 
a  niece  from  Algeria;  families  who  wandered  back 
and  forth  from  one  continent  to  the  other,  or  scat- 
tered up  and  down  the  two  coasts,  talking  five  lan- 
guages, and  living  half  like  Arabs,  half  like  Euro- 
peans. Hardly  had  dinner  begun  when  a  lively  con- 
versation sprang  up,  now  in  French,  now  in  Spanish, 
interspersed  with  Arabic  words  and  upon  topics 
which  were  certainly  far  enough  removed  from  the 
ordinary  subjects  discussed  by  Europeans.  Now  it 
was  the  price  of  a  camel,  now  the  stipend  of  a  Pasha, 
whether  the  Sultan  were  black  or  white,  whether  the 
report  that  ten  heads  had  been  brought  to  Fez  from 
the  rebellious  province  of  Garet  were  true  or  no, 
when  the  party  of  religious  fanatics  who  eat  live 
sheep  might  be  expected  in  Tangier,  and  many  other 
things  of  a  like  nature,  all  of  which  aroused  in  my 
breast  the  very  demon  of  curiosity.  Then  the  con- 
versation turned  upon  European  politics,  disconnected, 
as  such  discussions  among  people  of  different  nation- 
alities always  are,  and  with  a  repetition  of  the  usual 
empty,  sounding  phrases  which  people  invariably  em- 
ploy when  talking  of  far-off  political  conditions,  in- 
venting off-hand  improbable  alliances  and  absurd 
wars.  Next  the  talk  turned  upon  Gibraltar,  that 
inevitable  topic;  the  great  Gibraltar,  centre  of  attrac- 
tion for  all  Europeans  scattered  along  those  coasts, 


12  TANGIER. 

where  their  sons  are  educated  and  where  they  them- 
selves go  to  buy  their  clothes,  order  furniture,  hear 
the  opera,  and  inhale  a  mouthful  of  European  air. 
And  finally  every  one  fell  to  discussing  the  departure 
of  the  Italian  embassy  for  Fez,  and  I  had  the  grati- 
fication of  learning  that  this  event  was  of  consider- 
ably greater  importance  even  than  I  had  supposed ; 
that  it  was  being  talked  of  in  Tangier,  Algesiras, 
Cadiz,  and  Malaga ;  that  the  caravan  was  to  be  a  mile 
long ;  that  some  Italian  painters  were  to  accompany 
the  embassy,  and  that  it  was  even  said  that  a  repre- 
sentative of  tJie  press  might  be  of  the  party!  At 
which  piece  of  news  I  arose  from  the  table  and 
modestly  withdrew.  Later  on,  when  the  night  was 
somewhat  advanced,  I  determined  to  take  another 
turn  through  the  town  in  order  to  see  it  asleep.  Not 
a  lamp  was  burning,  not  a  window  lighted,  nor  was 
there  a  single  crack  or  chink  through  which  a  ray  of 
light  escaped.  It  was  like  an  uninhabited  city,  il- 
lumined only  by  the  starry  heavens  against  which 
the  loftier  buildings  stood  out  like  great  white  tomb- 
stones, and  the  points  of  the  minarets  and  tips  of  the 
palm-trees  were  thrown  into  clear  relief.  Proceeding 
to  the  very  foot  of  the  principal  street,  I  found  the 
gates  shut,  and  so,  turning,  threaded  my  way  through 
various  by-ways ;  but  everything  was  closed,  motion- 
less, silent  Two  or  three  times  I  stumbled  over  what 
I  at  first  mistook  for  bundles  of  rags,  but  discovered 
to  be  sleeping  Arabs.  More  than  once  a  shudder  of 


TANGIER.  13 

disgust  ran  through  me  as  I  knew,  by  the  crunching 
of  bones  and  soft,  yielding  sensation  beneath  my  feet, 
that  I  had  trodden  on  the  carcass  of  a  dog.  A  hooded 
Arab  glided  close  by  me,  sliding  along  the  wall  like  a 
spectre.  Another  loomed  up  for  a  moment  at  the  end 
of  a  side  street  and  disappeared;  and  once,  as  I  made 
a  sharp  turn,  a  hurried  rustle  of  garments  and  patter 
of  slippers  made  me  suspect,  though  nothing  was  to 
be  seen,  that  I  had  disturbed  a  secret  meeting.  As  I 
walked  no  sound  broke  the  stillness  save  that  of  my 
own  footsteps,  and  when  I  paused  nothing  could  be 
heard  but  my  own  breathing.  It  seemed  to  me  as 
though  the  population  of  Tangier  consisted  only  of 
myself,  and  that  were  I  to  utter  a  sudden  cry  it  would 
resound  through  the  empty  streets  like  a  clap  of 
thunder.  I  thought  of  all  the  beautiful  Arabians 
sleeping  close  by,  and  of  the  many  strange  secrets 
that  would  be  divulged  were  the  interiors  of  all  those 
houses  suddenly  to  be  exposed  to  view  like  the  scenes 
of  a  theatre.  From  time  to  time  I  would  pause  be- 
fore a  stretch  of  dazzling  white  wall,  against  which 
the  moon  shone  with  such  splendor  as  to  make  it  look 
as  though  it  were  lit  up  by  electric  lights.  In  a  nar- 
row alley  I  encountered  a  negro  carrying  a  lantern, 
who,  pausing  to  let  me  by,  murmured  some  unintelli- 
gible words.  Just  as  I  was  issuing  from  a  side  street 
into  the  square  a  loud  burst  of  laughter  suddenly 
broke  the  profound  stillness ;  it  proceeded  from 
two  young  men  in  high  hats,  probably  attaches  of 


14  TANGIER 

one  of  the  legations,  who  were  passing  by,  talking 
as  they  went.  In  one  corner  of  the  square,  be- 
neath the  awning  of  a  closed  shop,  some  rays  of 
light  glimmered  feebly,  disclosing  a  confused  mass 
of  whitish  rags,  from  the  midst  of  which  issued  the 
faint  notes  of  a  guitar  and  the  tremulous,  lamenting 
tones  of  a  human  voice,  like  a  sound  borne  from 
afar  on  the  fitful  breeze.  I  stood  for  some  time  quite 
motionless,  dreaming  rather  than  thinking,  until  at 
length,  the  two  Europeans  having  disappeared  and 
the  light  been  extinguished,  I  bethought  me  of  the 
hotel,  and  turned  my  steps  thither,  weary,  bewildered, 
with  my  brain  in  a  tumult,  and  a  curious,  unfamiliar 
impression  of  my  own  personality,  such  as  I  have 
often  fancied  would  be  that  of  a  man  who  finds  him- 
self suddenly  transported  to  another  planet 

On  the  following  morning  I  set  forth  in  search 
of  our  charge  d'affaires,  Comm.  Stefano  Scovasso. 
He  certainly  could  not  charge  me  with  being  un- 
punctual  at  the  appointed  meeting.  I  had  received 
my  invitation  on  the  8th  at  Turin,  and  with  it  a 
notification  that  the  caravan  would  set  out  from 
Tangier  on  the  19th  ;  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  I 
presented  myself  at  the  legation  doors.  I  had  no 
personal  acquaintance  with  Comm.  Scovasso,  but  had 
heard  enough  about  him  to  make  me  extremely 
anxious  to  meet  him.  Of  two  friends  of  his  whom 
I  had  questioned  before  leaving  home,  one  had  in- 
formed me  that  he  was  a  man  perfectly  capable  of 


TANGIER  15 

going  on  horseback  from  Tangier  to  Timbuctoo  with 
no  companion  other  than  a  pair  of  pistols,  while  the 
other  had  blamed  him  severely  for  yielding  to  his 
besetting  sin,  which,  it  appeared,  was  a  confirmed 
habit  of  risking  his  own  life  in  order  to  save  that 
of  someone  else.  Thanks  to  these  indications  I  was 
able  to  recognize  him  at  a  glance  while  still  some 
distance  away — before,  indeed,  the  interpreter  who 
accompanied  me  from  the  hotel  had  pointed  him 
out.  He  was  standing  in  the  doorway  of  the  le- 
gation, surrounded  by  an  obsequious  group  of  Arabs, 
who  appeared  to  be  awaiting  orders.  I  introduced 
myself,  was  received,  promptly  offered  the  hospi- 
tality of  the  quartier  generate,  and  furnished  with 
full  information  regarding  the  expedition.  This,  it 
appeared,  had  been  postponed  until  the  first  of  May 
owing  to  the  fact  of  the  English  embassy  being  in 
Fez  at  the  time  ;  from  which  place  we  must  await  the 
horses,  camels,  mules,  and  a  troop  of  cavalry,  which 
was  to  form  an  escort  for  the  journey.  A  transport- 
ship  belonging  to  our  military  marine,  the  Dora,  had 
already  landed  the  presents  which  Victor  Emanuel 
was  sending  to  the  Emperor  of  Morocco.  The  main 
object  of  the  trip,  so  far  as  the  charge  d'affaires  was 
concerned,  was  to  present  his  credentials  to  the 
youthful  Sultan  Mulai  el  Hassan,  who  had  ascended 
the  throne  in  September,  1873.  No  Italian  embassy 
had  ever  been  sent  to  Fez,  and  the  flag  of  United 
Italy  would  now  be  carried  for  the  first  time  into 


16  TANGIER. 

the  interior  of  Morocco  j  the  expedition  was,  conse- 
quently, to  be  received  with  extraordinary  honors. 
The  Minister  of  War  had  sent  a  staff  captain,  Signor 
Giulio  di  Boccard,  and  the  Minister  of  Marine  a  cap- 
tain of  a  frigate,  Signor  Fortunato  Cassone,  then  in 
command  of  the  Dora,  now  of  a  man-of-war.  These, 
together  with  the  Italian  vice-consul  at  Tangier  and 
our  consular  agent  at  Mazagan,  formed  the  official 
part  of  the  embassy.  Two  artists — Ussi  from  Flor- 
ence and  Biseo  from  Rome — and  I  were  private 
guests  of  Signor  Scovasso.  Everyone,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Mazagan  consular  agent,  had  already 
reached  Tangier. 

My  first  care,  on  finding  myself  alone,  was  to  study 
the  dwelling  in  which  I  was  to  be  a  guest ;  and,  in- 
deed, the  residence  of  a  European  minister  in  Africa, 
especially  if  he  be  making  preparations  for  a  trip  into 
the  interior,  is  worthy  of  close  observation.  The 
building  itself  was  in  no  way  remarkable — white  and 
bare  without,  having  a  small  garden  in  front  and  a 
small  court  in  the  centre,  furnished  with  four  columns 
supporting  a  covered  gallery  running  all  around  it 
on  a  level  with  the  second  floor.  It  was  the  ordinary 
gentleman's  dwelling  of  Cadiz  or  Seville,  but  the 
occupants,  the  mode  of  life,  were  something  alto- 
gether novel.  The  housekeeper  and  cook  were 
Piedmontese,  one  of  the  servants  was  a  Moor  of 
Tangier,  and  another  a  negress  from  the  Soudan 
who  went  about  with  bare  feet,  the  Arab  grooms 


TANGIER  17 

and  domestics  wore  long  white  tunics,  the  consular 
guard  a  uniform  consisting  of  a  fez,  red  caftan  and 
dagger.  All  were  in  constant  motion  throughout  the 
day.  At  certain  hours  there  would  be  a  great  coming 
and  going  of  Hebrew  workmen,  negro  porters,  inter- 
preters, soldiers  of  the  Pasha,  and  Moors  under  the 
protection  of  the  legation.  The  courtyard  was  filled 
with  packing-cases,  camp-beds,  rugs  and  lanterns. 
There  was  a  continual  noise  of  saws  and  hammers, 
and  voices  of  servants  calling  to  one  another  by  such 
unfamiliar  names  as  Fatma,  Racma,  Selam,  Moham- 
med, Ali,  Abd-er-Rhaman.  Then  there  was  such  a 
queer  mixture  of  languages.  A  Moor  comes  on  some 
errand,  which  he  explains  in  Arabic  to  another  Moor, 
who  transmits  it  in  Spanish  to  the  housekeeper,  who 
repeats  it  in  Piedmontese  to  the  cook ;  it  was  a  cease- 
less confusion  of  translations,  explanations,  misunder- 
standings and  doubts,  intermingled  with  exclamations 
of  Por  dios!  AUa!  and  familiar  Italian  oaths.  In  the 
street  a  continuous  procession  of  horses  and  mules, 
before  the  door  a  permanent  group  composed  of  the 
merely  curious  and  others,  poor  devils  of  Arabs  or 
Hebrews,  humble  aspirants  for  the  protection  of  the 
legation.  From  time  to  time  visitors  arrive,  a 
minister  or  consul,  then  down  go  all  the  fezzes  and 
turbans  in  lowly  obeisance.  Every  moment  brings 
some  mysterious  messenger  clad  in  strange  attire, 
and  with  curious,  foreign-looking  features.  So  pict- 
uresque is  the  ever-shifting  variety  of  form  and  color, 
VOL.  I.— 2 


18  TANGIER. 

of  pose  and  gesture,  that  only  the  accompanying 
music  is  needed  to  persuade  the  looker-on  that  it  is 
all  a  part  of  a  ballet  representing  some  Eastern 
scene. 

My  next  care  was  to  borrow  some  books  from  my 
host  in  order  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  what  country  this 
really  was  before  attempting  to  study  its  habits  and 
customs.  This  land,  then,  shut  in  by  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea  and  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  Desert  of  Sahara 
and  Algeria,  crossed  by  the  great  Atlas  range, 
watered  by  wide  rivers  and  opening  out  into  immense 
plains,  the  home  of  every  variety  of  climate,  richly 
endowed  in  the  domains  of  all  three  natural  kingdoms, 
possessing  untold  riches,  and  clearly  intended  by  vir- 
tue of  its  geographical  position  to  form  the  great 
commercial  high-road  between  Europe  and  Central 
Africa,  has  at  present  a  population  of  about  eight  mil- 
lions, including  Berbers,  Arabs,  Moors,  Jews,  negroes 
and  Europeans,  scattered  over  an  area  larger  than  the 
whole  of  France.  The  Berbers,  who  form  the  nucleus 
of  the  native  population, — wild,  turbulent,  indomit- 
able,— live  among  the  inaccessible  Atlas  Mountains, 
and  are  almost  independent  of  imperial  authority. 
The  Arabs — the  conquering  nation — occupy  the 
plains ;  they  are  still  nomadic  and  pastoral,  and  have 
not  entirely  lost  that  pride  which  was  once  their 
natural  characteristic.  The  Moors — corrupt  Arabs 
of  mixed  blood,  descended  for  the  most  part  from  the 
Spanish  Moors — dwell  in  the  towns,  and  have  the 


My  noxi  efiv  w  UA  ? 
host  in  order  i<>  *H;J^N  ;/•'.  vlf.as    •  •  wh.-it  country  this 


domains  of  ail  ti 
>ld  riches,  and  v; 


)f  tlie  natir«  poprdaUon, wi!u.   turl;u.l*MH 


bs — the    conquering    nation — occupy    the 
hey  are  still  n«nc&dic  iind  pastoral,,  and  have 


ixed  blxwi,  descended  for  the  in«        -art  tW- 
ti.»ls  Mot/r» — dvroM  in  the  town.s,  arj«(  hnv 
Nomads  from  the  Interior 


TANGIER  19 

wealth,  commerce  and  carrying  trade  of  the  country 
pretty  much  in  their  own  hands.  The  negroes, 
numbering  about  five  hundred  thousand,  come  origin- 
ally from  the  Soudan ;  they  are  for  the  most  part  ser- 
vants, laborers  and  soldiers.  The  Jews  number  about 
the  same  as  the  negroes,  and  are  most  of  them  de- 
scended from  those  of  their  nation  who  were  driven 
out  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages.  Oppressed, 
hated,  persecuted  and  humiliated  more  here,  per- 
haps, than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world,  they 
exercise  their  several  arts  and  industries  with  that  in- 
genuity, docility  and  perseverance  so  characteristic 
of  their  race,  consoling  themselves  for  the  injuries 
they  are  obliged  to  endure  in  the  possession  of 
money  wrested  from  their  oppressors.  The  Euro- 
peans have  been  driven  back  little  by  little  from  the 
interior  of  the  empire  towards  the  coast  by  Mussul- 
man intolerance,  and  now  amount  to  less  than  two 
thousand  persons  throughout  the  whole  of  Morocco, 
most  of  these  residing  in  Tangier,  and  living  inde- 
pendently in  the  shadow  of  the  legation  flags.  This 
heterogeneous  population,  scattered  and  diverse,  is  op- 
pressed rather  than  ruled  by  a  military  government, 
which,  like  a  huge  polypus,  absorbs  the  entire  vitality 
of  the  country.  The  tribes  and  villagers  obey  their 
own  chiefs,  the  cities  and  smaller  provinces  the  Raids, 
the  large  provinces  the  Pashas,  and  the  Pashas  the 
Sultan — chief  sherif,  high  priest,  supreme  judge,  ad- 
ministrator of  the  laws  which  emanate  from  himself; 


20  TANGIER. 

free  to  altar  at  his  own  will  or  caprice  currency,  taxes, 
weights,  measures,  and  absolute  master  of  the  lives 
and  property  of  his  subjects.  Beneath  the  weight  of 
such  a  government  and  encircled  by  the  inflexible 
bands  of  the  Mussulman  religion,  untouched  by  any 
influx  of  European  ideas  and  controlled  by  a  savage 
fanaticism,  all  that  which  in  other  countries  changes 
and  advances  here  either  remains  stationary  or  falls 
into  decay.  Commerce  is  choked  by  monopolies,  by 
prohibitory  measures  controlling  exports  and  imports, 
and  by  the  capricious  mutability  of  the  laws  ;  trade, — 
its  activity  restricted  by  the  fetters  that  impede  com- 
merce,— with  its  primitive  machinery  and  childish 
methods,  is  to-day  in  much  the  same  condition  as  be- 
fore the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain  5  agricul- 
ture is  so  weighted  by  excessive  taxation  at  home — 
while  restrained  from  seeking  a  foreign  market  for  its 
produce — that  it  is  now  only  practised  to  the  extent 
of  providing  the  barest  necessities  of  life,  and  has 
sunk  so  low  as  hardly  to  merit  the  name  ;  and,  finally, 
science,  choked  by  the  Koran  and  profaned  by  super- 
stition, now  consists  in  most  schools  of  such  elemen- 
tary propositions  as  were  commonly  taught  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  There  are  no  printing-presses,  books, 
or  maps  ;  the  language,  itself  a  corrupt  form  of  Arabic, 
is  only  preserved  by  means  of  an  imperfect  and  vari- 
able orthography,  and  grows  steadily  worse,  and  the 
national  character,  in  that  general  decadence,  more 
degenerate  still.  All  the  ancient  Mussulman  civiliza- 


TANGIER  21 

tion  is  withering  away.  Morocco,  that  extreme  west- 
ern bulwark  of  Islamism,  once  the  seat  of  a  monarchy 
which  ruled  from  the  Hebrus  to  the  Soudan,  and  from 
the  Niger  to  the  Balearics,  with  its  flourishing  uni- 
versities, its  huge  libraries,  its  famous  scholars,  its 
armies  and  formidable  fleets,  is  nothing  now  but  a 
little  state,  almost  unknown,  filled  with  poverty  and 
decay,  resisting  with  all  its  remaining  strength  the 
inroads  of  European  civilization,  and  only  retaining 
its  place  at  all  by  grace  of  the  mutual  jealousies  of 
the  various  Powers. 

As  for  Tangier,  the  ancient  Tingis  which  gave  its 
Aame  to  the  Mauritania  Tingitana,  and  passed  succes- 
sively from  the  hands  of  the  Romans  into  those  of  the 
Vandals,  Greeks,  Visigoths,  Arabs,  Portuguese  and 
English,  it  is  now  a  city  of  about  fifteen  thousand  in- 
habitants, regarded  by  its  sister  cities  of  the  empire 
as  a  "  prostitute  of  the  Christians,"  though  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  no  traces  are  to  be  seen  of  the  churches 
and  monasteries  founded  by  the  Portuguese,  and  the 
Christian  religion  is  represented  by  one  small  chapel, 
hidden  away  amid  the  consular  residences. 

Having  possessed  myself  of  this  general  outline  of 
the  present  condition  of  the  country,  I  next  began  to 
pursue  various  investigations  on  my  own  account  in 
and  about  the  streets  and  by-ways  of  Tangier  by  way 
of  preparation  for  the  coming  journey,  making  notes 
from  day  to  day  of  such  things  as  especially  struck 
me.  Here  are  some  of  them,  incomplete  and  discon- 


22  TANGIER 

nected  enough,  but  written  as  they  were  while  the 
impressions  were  still  fresh,  probably  of  more  value 
than  a  more  carefully  prepared  description  would  be. 

Every  time  I  pass  a  handsome  Moor  in  gala  dress 
I  feel  ashamed.  Compare  my  ugly  hat  with  his  great 
muslin  turban ;  my  wretched  short  coat  with  his  flow- 
ing caftan  of  jasmine  or  rose-color  ;  in  short,  the  gen- 
eral poverty  and  dulness  of  my  costume,  all  gray 
and  black,  with  the  brilliancy,  the  simple  elegance 
and  dignity  of  his.  I  am  like  a  beetle  beside  a  but- 
terfly. Sometimes  I  stand  for  ever  so  long  gazing 
from  my  window  at  the  edge  of  a  pair  of  blood-red 
trousers  surmounting  a  yellow  slipper  which  can  be 
seen  around  the  corner  of  a  pillar  in  the  square  be- 
low, extracting  such  enjoyment  from  the  sight  that  it 
is  difficult  to  tear  myself  away  ;  and  more  than  any- 
thing else  does  the  caik  arouse  my  envy  and  admira- 
tion, that  long  strip  of  whitest  wool  or  silk,  with  trans- 
parent stripes,  which  is  folded  first  about  the  turban, 
falling  from  thence  down  the  back  to  be  wound  around 
the  body,  knotted  below  the  shoulders,  and  descend, 
finally,  to  the  ground.  Enfolding,  as  it  were,  in  a 
misty  cloud  the  brilliant  hues  of  the  clothing  beneath, 
it  stirs  and  spreads  with  every  breath  of  wind,  glows 
like  fire  in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  endows  the  wearer 
with  the  diaphanous  appearance  of  a  vision.  It  is 
this  charming  scarf  which  the  enamored  Mussulman 
wraps  about  his  bride  on  the  wedding  night. 

Only  those  who  have   seen  for  themselves  would 


TANGIER  23 

believe  the  extent  to  which  the  Arabs  have  mastered 
the  art  of  taking  their  ease.  In  corners  where  we 
would  be  embarrassed  as  to  how  to  dispose  of  a  bag 
of  rags  or  a  bundle  of  straw,  one  of  them  will  stretch 
himself  out  as  comfortably  as  though  reposing  upon  a 
bed  of  down.  They  curl  themselves  around  every 
projection,  fill  up  hollows,  flatten  themselves  along  the 
face  of  a  wall  like  a  bas-relief,  stretch  and  spread  out 
flat  on  the  ground  until  they  look  like  white  cloaks 
laid  there  to  dry,  roll  themselves  up  into  balls,  cubes, 
monstrosities  without  arms  or  legs  or  heads,  so  that 
sometimes  the  streets  and  squares  of  the  city  suggest 
the  scene  of  a  late  massacre,  all  strewn  with  dead 
bodies  and  mutilated  corpses. 

The  more  I  see  of  these  people  the  more  I  am  filled 
with  admiration  at  the  freedom  and  nobility  of  their 
bearing.  Whether  it  is  owing  to  the  cut  of  our 
clothes  or  our  tight  shoes,  or  whether  it  is  merely  the 
result  of  habit  I  cannot  say,  but  it  is  unusual  among 
us  to  find  any  one  whose  walk  is  not  artificial,  whereas 
here  every  one  moves  along  with  the  grace  and  free- 
dom of  magnificent  wild  animals.  I  have  observed 
them  attentively,  and  thus  far  have  seen  none  of  the 
bully,  dancing-master,  or  awkward-lover  gaits  to 
which  my  eye  has  long  been  accustomed  by  the 
thousand  examples  to  be  seen  daily  in  our  streets. 
There  is  in  the  carriage  of  each  one  of  them  some- 
thing of  the  stateliness  of  a  priest,  the  dignity  of  a 
king  and  the  freedom  of  a  soldier,  and  it  is  very  re- 


24  TANGIER 

markable  that  people  who  pass  so  much  of  their  time 
stretched  out  at  full  length,  immovable,  in  a  state  of 
semi-torpor,  if  their  passions  be  aroused  never  so  little, 
exhibit  a  strength  and  vigor  of  voice  and  gesture 
which  nearly  borders  on  frenzy.  But  even  in  their 
most  furious  outbursts  they  still  preserve  a  sort  of 
tragic  dignity  which  would  afford  an  excellent  exam- 
ple for  many  an  actor.  It  will  be  long,  for  instance, 
ere  I  forget  the  Arab  of  this  morning,  a  tall,  wasted 
old  man,  who,  having,  as  I  was  told,  been  given  the 
lie  by  one  with  whom  up  to  then  he  had  been  carry- 
ing on  a  mild  dispute,  grew  suddenly  pale,  drew  back, 
and  then  strode  down  the  street,  covering  his  face 
convulsively  with  both  hands  and  giving  vent  to 
a  wild  cry  of  mingled  anger  and  reproach.  Seldom 
have  I  seen  an  attitude  so  striking  and  so  full  of 
grace.  The  ordinary  costume  consists  of  a  sim- 
ple white  cloak,  but  what  extraordinary  variety 
they  manage  to  introduce  into  the  fashion  of  wear- 
ing it !  One  has  it  open,  another  closed ;  this  one 
drawn  to  one  side,  that  one  caught  up  on  the 
shoulder,  or  twisted  like  a  rope,  or  floating  free ;  but 
always  it  is  arranged  with  taste  in  an  endless  variety 
of  lines,  flowing  or  severe,  as  though  draped  by  the 
hand  of  an  artist,  or  rather  as  an  artist  would  fain 
know  how  to  drape  it.  They  all  look  like  Roman 
Senators.  This  morning  Ussi  discovered  a  wonder- 
ful Marcus  Brutus  in  the  middle  of  a  group  of 
Bedouins.  But  unless  the  wearers  are  accustomed  to 


TANGIER  25 

them  these  cloaks  are  not  sufficient  of  themselves  to 
lend  dignity  to  the  figure.  Some  of  us  bought  them  for 
the  journey  and  tried  them  on,  but  for  my  part  I  could 
think  of  nothing  but  a  group  of  old  convalescents 
wrapped  in  bath  sheets. 

As  yet  I  have  seen  no  dwarfs,  deformed  or  lame 
persons  among  the  Arabs,  though  many  of  them  have 
no  noses,  the  result  of  morbo  celtico,  and  blindness  is 
very  common,  the  eye-sockets  being  frequently  en- 
tirely empty,  a  sight  which  always  made  me  shudder, 
reflecting  as  I  did  that  in  some  cases  at  least  the  eye- 
balls had  doubtless  been  torn  out  in  pursuance  of  the 
law  of  retaliation  which  still  flourishes  in  the  empire. 
But  there  is  nothing  grotesque  or  despicable  in  the 
appearance  of  any  of  the  many  strange,  unprepossess- 
ing looking  figures  one  encounters.  The  ample  gar- 
ments hide  all  minor  defects,  just  as  the  universal 
seriousness  and  the  wooden,  terra-cotta  or  bronzed 
look  of  the  skin  conceals  the  differences  of  years,  so 
that  one  constantly  meets  men  whose  age  it  is  impos- 
sible to  tell ;  not  old  people,  surely,  and  yet  they  do 
not  seem  young ;  perhaps  we  think  they  are  old,  and 
then  a  fleeting  smile  will  all  at  once  reveal  their 
youthfulness ;  or,  having  definitely  decided  that  they 
are  young,  the  hood  suddenly  falls  back  and  exposes 
a  grizzled  head  beneath. 

The  Jewish  men  of  these  parts  resemble  their 
European  compatriots  in  so  far  as  their  features  are 
concerned,  but  their  superior  height,  darker  skin  and 


26  TANGIEB. 

long  black  hair,  and,  above  all,  their  picturesque 
dress,  make  them  seem  like  an  altogether  different 
race.  They  wear  a  garment  shaped  somewhat  like 
a  dressing-gown,  varying  in  color,  but  usually  dark, 
and  bound  about  the  waist  by  a  red  scarf;  a  black  cap, 
wide  trousers  appearing  only  a  few  inches  below  the 
skirts  of  the  coat,  and  yellow  slippers ;  and  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  how  many  "  exquisites  "  there  are 
among  them,  dressed  in  the  finest  materials,  with  em- 
broidered shirts,  silken  scarfs,  and  gold  rings  and 
chains — nothing  tawdry,  though.  The  general  effect, 
on  the  contrary,  is  rather  severe,  and  at  the  same  time 
both  graceful  and  dignified,  with  the  exception,  that 
is,  of  a  few  misguided  ones  who  have  become  per- 
verts to  the  high  hat  and  long  black  coat.  Among 
the  boys  there  are  some  slight,  graceful  figures,  but 
the  species  of  dressing-gown  worn  by  all  alike  is  not 
adapted  to  their  age.  Every  Jewish  youth  looks  to 
me  like  an  amateur  on  the  stage  of  a  college  dressed 
for  the  part  of  Protagonist  in  the  CampaneUo  dello 
Speziale. 

I  am  already  satisfied  that  there  is  no  exaggeration 
in  what  has  been  said  of  the  beauty  of  the  Jewesses 
of  Morocco ;  it  has  a  character  all  its  own  unknown 
in  other  countries — opulent  and  brilliant,  the  beauty 
of  snowy  brows,  great  black  eyes,  crimson  lips,  and 
statuesque  outlines ;  somewhat  theatrical,  to  be  sure, 
and  easily  seen  from  a  distance ;  more  calculated,  I 
should  fancy,  to  draw  forth  a  round  of  applause  than 


' 


,PS  l-rl^v  Uie 
and  K  is  in- 

tbere  are 
jtls,  with  em- 

•*juffs  and 


unnown 
aad  Urilliiint,  the  beauty- 


A    TUT       't-        f  alau»f 
A  Moorish 


TANGIER  27 

amorous  sighs.  One  pictures  it  surrounded  by  the 
torches  and  wreathed  goblets  of  an  ancient  feast  as 
in  its  natural  setting.  The  Tangier  Jewesses  do  not 
wear  their  rich  national  costume  in  public,  dressing 
much  like  Europeans  except  for  their  fantastic  colors, 
mazarine  blue,  crimson,  grass-green,  sulphur-yellow; 
shawls  and  petticoats  that  attract  the  eye  from  one 
hill-top  to  another,  and  make  their  wearers  look  as 
though  they  were  arrayed  in  the  flags  of  all  the 
nations.  Passing  through  the  Jewish  quarter  on  a 
Saturday  one  sees  on  all  sides  vivid  colors,  florid  faces, 
great,  soft,  smiling  eyes,  long  black  tresses ;  bevies  of 
noisy,  inquisitive  children;  an  exuberance  of  youth 
and  sensual  beauty  which  offers  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  austere  silence  and  solitude  of  the  rest  of  the 
city. 

The  Arab  boys  make  me  laugh.  The  little  ones, 
barely  able  to  toddle,  but  enveloped  as  well  in  the 
universal  white  cape,  of  which  the  big  hood  alone  is 
seen,  all  look  like  wandering  extinguishers.  Most 
of  them  have  their  heads  shaved  as  bare  as  the 
back  of  one's  hand,  except  for  a  single  lock  hang- 
ing down  a  foot  or  so  in  length  from  the  crown,  as 
though  the  owners  were  to  be  suspended  like  pup- 
pets ;  others  wear  it  behind  the  ear  or  over  one 
temple,  with  a  few  tufts  of  hair  cut  in  the  form  of  a 
square  or  triangle,  to  distinguish  the  last-born  of  a 
family.  For  the  most  part,  they  have  pale,  attrac- 
tive little  faces,  slender,  erect  figures,  and  an  expres- 


28  TANGIER. 

sion  of  precocious  intelligence.  In  the  more  frequented 
parts  of  the  city  they  pay  no  attention  to  Europeans, 
and  in  the  side  streets  usually  content  themselves  with 
gazing  at  them  fixedly,  as  though  saying  under  their 
breath,  "  I  do  not  like  you."  Sometimes  one  will  be 
strongly  tempted  to  call  out  some  piece  of  imperti- 
nence. You  can  see  it  shining  in  his  eyes  and  trem- 
bling on  his  lips,  but  it  is  rarely  allowed  to  escape, — 
not  so  much  by  reason  of  any  reverence  for  the 
Nazarene  as  from  fear  of  papa,  who  respects  the 
atmosphere  surrounding  the  legation.  In  any  case, 
however,  a  coin  has  a  pacifying  effect,  though  one 
must  be  careful  to  avoid  pulling  their  pig-tails ;  as 
yesterday,  when  I  gave  a  gentle  tug  at  one  belong- 
ing to  a  small  creature  about  a  foot  high,  he  turned 
on  me  like  a  little  viper,  spluttering  out  some  words, 
which  my  interpreter  told  me  signified,  "  May  Grod 
roast  your  grandfather,  accursed  Christian  !" 

At  last  I  have  seen  two  saints ;  that  is  to  say,  two 
idiots  or  lunatics — since  here,  as  elsewhere  through- 
out Northern  Africa,  it  is  customary  to  venerate  as 
saints  those  whom  God,  in  sign  of  especial  favor,  has  de- 
prived of  their  reason  in  order  that  He  may  preserve 
it  in  Heaven.  The  first  one  I  encountered  was  seated 
in  front  of  a  shop  in  the  principal  street.  I  saw  him 
while  yet  some  distance  off,  and  stood  still,  knowing 
well  that  everything  is  permissible  for  a  saint,  and  not 
especially  caring  to  be  struck  on  the  back  of  the  head 
with  a  stick,  like  M.  Sourdeau,  the  French  consul,  or 


TANGIER.  29 

be  spit  at  in  the  face,  as  once  happened  to  Mr.  Drum- 
mond  Hay.  But  my  interpreter  pushed  me  forward, 
saying  there  was  no  danger,  as  the  Tangier  saints  had 
recovered  their  senses  a  little  since  the  legations  had 
made  a  few  striking  examples ;  and  in  any  case  the 
Arabs  will  often  act  as  shields  themselves  rather  than 
allow  a  saint  to  compromise  himself.  Accordingly, 
I  passed  close  by  this  particular  scarecrow  and  ex- 
amined him  attentively.  He  was  an  old  man,  all 
paunch  and  face,  with  long,  white  hair,  and  a  beard 
straggling  down  over  his  breast  5  on  his  head  he  wore 
a  paper  crown,  a  torn  red  mantle  was  thrown  across 
his  shoulders,  and  he  carried  a  little  spear  tipped  with 
gold.  He  was  seated  on  the  ground,  his  legs  crossed 
beneath  him,  his  back  against  the  wall,  gazing 
wearily  at  the  people  who  passed  by.  I  stopped 
short,  and  he  looked  at  me.  "  Now  for  it,"  I  thought ; 
"  here  comes  the  spear !"  But  the  spear  was  dis- 
creet, and  I  was  more  than  amazed  at  the  calm  intel- 
ligence of  those  eyes,  and  the  smile,  astute  and  fleet- 
ing, which  lit  them  up  for  a  moment  as  I  looked,  as 
though  he  were  thinking  "You  expect  me  to  lay 
across  your  back,  do  you  ?  to  play  the  fool  ?"  He 
was  undoubtedly  one  of  those  impostors  who,  per- 
fectly sane,  pretend  to  be  crazy  in  order  to  enjoy 
the  privileges  accorded  to  saints.  I  threw  him  a 
piece  of  money,  watched  the  air  of  affected  indiffer- 
ence with  which  he  picked  it  up,  and  proceeded  in  the 
direction  of  the  square,  which  I  had  barely  reached 


30  TANGIER 

when  I  came  across  another,  but  this  time  a  genuine, 
saint.  He  was  a  mulatto,  almost  entirely  naked,  with 
a  face  that  was  hardly  human,  encrusted  from  head 
to  foot  with  dirt,  and  so  wasted  that  his  entire  frame 
could  be  seen  bone  for  bone,  making  him  look  like 
the  "living  prodigy"  in  a  show.  He  was  walking 
slowly  around  the  square,  painfully  carrying  a  large 
white  banner,  which  the  boys  ran  up  to  kiss  from 
time  to  time,  while  another  wretched-looking  creature, 
accompanied  by  two  musicians  performing  frantically 
upon  a  fife  and  drum,  begged  alms  from  shop  to  shop. 
I  passed  close  beside  him,  receiving  a  sidelong  glance, 
which  I  returned,  whereupon  he  came  to  a  standstill, 
and  seemed  to  be  getting  something  ready  in  his 
mouth,  and  I  moved  on  as  nimbly  as  possible,  taking 
good  care  not  to  look  behind.  "  You  did  well  to  get 
out  of  his  way,"  said  the  interpreter.  "  Had  he  spat 
in  your  face,  all  the  consolation  the  other  Arabs  would 
have  offered  you  would  have  been  to  call  out,  t  Wipe 
not  thy  face,  0  fortunate  Christian  !  Destroy  not  the 
mark  of  God's  favor  !  Blessed  art  thou,  for  the  saint 
hath  spat  upon  thee  !'  r 

To-night  I  again  heard  the  guitar  and  voice  of  the 
first  evening,  and  for  the  first  time  felt  the  Arabian 
music.  In  that  continual  repetition  of  the  same  mo- 
tive, almost  always  a  melancholy  one,  there  is  some- 
thing that  little  by  little  steals  upon  the  soul.  It  is  a 
kind  of  monotonous  lament  which  ends  by  taking 
possession  of  one's  mind,  just  as  the  murmuring  of  a 


TANGIER  31 

fountain  does,  or  the  singing  of  crickets,  or  the  blows 
of  the  hammer  descending  on  an  anvil,  heard  at  night- 
fall on  the  outskirts  of  some  village.  I  try  to  collect 
my  thoughts,  making  an  effort  to  discover  the  hidden 
meaning  of  that  ever-recurring  word  as  it  falls  upon 
my  ears.  It  is  barbarous  music,  simple,  yet  ineffably 
sweet,  suggesting  a  primitive  condition  recalling  long- 
forgotten  dreams,  my  sensations  when  the  Bible  was 
first  read  to  me,  awakening  a  yearning  curiosity  about 
legendary  peoples  and  lands,  transporting  me  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  where,  amid  groves  of  strange,  un- 
familiar trees,  priests  prostrate  themselves  before 
golden  idols  ;  or  depositing  me  on  boundless  plains  in 
mournful  solitudes,  where  caravans  of  weary  travel- 
lers, wistfully  eyeing  the  unbroken  horizon,  recom- 
mend themselves  to  the  mercy  of  Grod.  Nothing 
amid  my  strange  surroundings  has  filled  me  with  such 
a  melancholy  longing  to  see  my  mother  once  more  as 
those  few  notes  of  a  thin  human  voice  and  a  discord- 
ant guitar. 

The  Moorish  shop  is  a  most  extraordinary  affair, 
consisting  of  a  sort  of  alcove  about  three  feet  from 
the  ground,  at  which  the  customer  stands  as  though 
it  were  a  window ;  he  leans  against  the  wall  and  the 
shopkeeper  remains  seated  within,  in  the  Eastern 
fashion,  a  part  of  his  wares  spread  out  before  him,  and 
the  rest  disposed  about  on  little  shelves  in  the  rear. 
The  effect  produced  by  those  bearded  old  Moors,  im- 
movable as  automatons,  squatted  at  the  back  of  their 


32  TANGIER 

dark  little  holes,  is  odd  in  the  extreme.  It  is  as 
though  not  their  goods,  but  they  themselves  were  on 
exhibition,  like  living  phenomenons  in  the  booths  at 
a  fair.  Are  they  alive  I  Are  they  made  of  wood  ? 
Where  is  the  mechanism  for  making  them  appear  and 
disappear  ?  And  thus  silent  and  well-nigh  motion- 
less they  pass  hour  after  hour — the  entire  day — run- 
ning their  fingers  over  the  beads  of  a  rosary  and  mur- 
muring prayers.  It  is  impossible  to  express  how 
lonely,  bored  and  melancholy  they  look,  sitting  there. 
One  would  suppose  that  every  shop  was  a  tomb,  in 
which  the  owner,  already  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  living,  now  only  awaited  the  coming  of  death. 

I  have  seen  two  little  boys,  about  five  and  six  years 
old,  respectively,  being  conducted  along  in  triumph, 
after  the  solemn  rite  of  circumcision.  They  were 
mounted  on  a  white  mule  and  decked  out  in  red,  yel- 
low and  green  garments  embroidered  in  gold,  and  so 
buried  in  flowers  and  ribbons  that  one  could  hardly 
see  the  pale  little  faces,  still  wearing  an  expression  of 
frightened  bewilderment.  Before  the  mule,  which 
was  draped  and  caparisoned  like  a  beast  belonging  to 
royalty,  marched  three  musicians,  playing  furiously 
upon  a  drum,  fife  and  tambourine ;  on  either  side 
and  behind  came  the  relatives  and  friends,  one 
held  the  children  firm  in  the  saddle,  another  plied 
them  with  sweetmeats,  others  loaded  them  with 
caresses,  and  still  others  fired  off  guns  in  the  air, 
shouting  and  leaping  all  the  while.  Had  I  not  known 


TANGIEE.  33 

the  significance  of  the  ceremony  I  would  have  taken 
those  unfortunate  boys  for  a  pair  of  victims  being  led 
to  the  sacrifice  $  at  the  same  time  the  sight  was  not 
devoid  of  a  certain  poetic  charm,  though  the  poetic 
part  would  undoubtedly  have  appealed  to  me  more 
strongly  had  I  not  been  informed  that  the  sacred  rite 
was  performed  with  a  barber's  razor. 

This  evening  I  witnessed  a  remarkable  transforma- 
tion in  the  person  of  Racma,  the  minister's  negro 
maid-servant.  One  of  the  other  servants  came  in 
search  of  me,  and  escorting  me  on  tiptoe  to  a  half- 
closed  door  suddenly  threw  it  wide  open,  exclaiming, 
"  Look  at  Racma !"  I  was  so  dumfounded  at  the 
appearance  of  the  negress,  whom  I  was  accustomed 
to  see  going  about  in  the  costume  of  an  extremely 
modest  slave,  that  for  a  moment  I  could  not  believe 
my  eyes.  I  would  have  taken  her  for  a  sultana  es- 
caped from  the  imperial  palace,  the  Queen  of  Tim- 
buctoo,  a  princess  from  some  unknown  kingdom  of 
Central  Africa  spirited  thither  on  Bisnagar's  magic 
carpet.  As  I  only  saw  her  for  a  moment  I  cannot 
describe  her  dress  very  particularly,  but  there  was  a 
general  appearance  of  snow-white  and  crimson,  and 
a  glitter  of  wide  gold  braid,  all  seen  through  the  trans- 
parent folds  of  a  great  white  veil,  which  combined 
with  the  black  face  to  form  a  wonderful  harmony  of 
color  and  an  effect  of  barbaric  magnificence  which  I 
have  no  words  to  describe.  As  I  drew  nearer  to 
study  the  details  more  closely  all  this  pomp  of  color 
VOL.  1—3 


34  TANGIER. 

suddenly  disappeared,  swallowed  up  in  the  lugubrious 
folds  of  a  Mohammedan  sheet,  the  queen  was  trans- 
formed into  a  spectre,  and  the  spectre  vanished,  leav- 
ing behind  it  that  sickening  wild-beast  odor  peculiar 
to  the  negro  race,  which  at  once  had  the  effect  of  de- 
stroying the  illusion. 

Hearing  a  tremendous  racket  in  the  square  I  went 
to  the  window  in  time  to  see  a  negro,  stripped  to  the 
waist,  ride  by  on  a  donkey.  Half  a  dozen  Arabs  armed 
with  sticks  surrounded  him,  followed  by  a  crowd  of 
yelling  boys.  Thinking  it  was  some  tomfoolery  I 
picked  up  my  glass  to  take  a  closer  look,  but  quickly 
drew  back  horrified  at  finding  that  the  stains  on  the 
negro's  white  trousers  were  made  by  blood  which 
was  trickling  down  from  wounds  on  his  back.  The 
Arabs  with  sticks  were  soldiers  engaged  in  beating 
him.  I  asked  what  it  all  meant.  "  He  stole  a  hen," 
said  one  of  the  legation  soldiers.  "Lucky  fellow, 
they  are  evidently  going  to  let  him  off  without  cut- 
ting off  his  hand." 

I  have  been  in  Tangier  seven  days,  and  thus  far 
have  not  beheld  the  face  of  an  Arab  woman.  I  feel 
as  though  I  were  at  a  masquerade  party  where  all 
the  ladies  have  disguised  themselves  as  spectres,  just 
as  children  do  when  they  wrap  themselves  up  in 
sheets.  They  walk  very  deliberately,  taking  long 
steps,  their  bodies  slightly  bent  and  faces  covered 
with  the  hem  of  a  sort  of  linen  mantle,  beneath  which 
they  wear  only  a  long  chemise,  made  with  wide 


TANGIER  35 

sleeves  and  fastened  around  the  waist  with  a  cord 
like  a  monk's  tunic.  Nothing  can  be  seen  of  their 
persons  but  the  eyes,  the  hand  which  conceals  the 
face,  the  finger-tips  colored  with  henna,  and  the  bare 
feet,  also  colored  with  henna  and  shod  in  large,  yellow 
leather  slippers.  Most  of  them  only  allow  half  the 
forehead  and  one  eye  to  appear,  the  eye  being  usually 
dark  and  the  forehead  wax  color.  On  encountering 
a  European  on  a  side  street  some  of  them  will  cover 
the  entire  face  with  a  quick  movement  of  annoyance, 
drawing  close  to  the  wall  as  they  pass  5  others  risk  a 
glance,  half  shy,  half  curious  ;  while  a  few  bold  spirits 
look  squarely  at  you,  evidently  wishing  to  attract  at- 
tention, and  then  drop  their  eyes  with  a  smile.  Most 
of  them,  though,  have  a  sad,  weary,  discouraged  air. 
The  young  girls  who  have  not  yet  been  obliged  to 
cover  their  faces  are  quite  charming-looking,  with 
black  eyes,  full  round  cheeks,  pale  complexions,  little 
round  mouths  and  small  hands  and  feet  5  but  by  the 
time  they  are  twenty  they  have  already  become  faded, 
at  thirty  they  are  old  and  at  fifty  decrepit. 

There  is  in  Tangier  a  sort  of  monstrosity,  an  un- 
fortunate creature  whom  it  is  disagreeable  even  to 
look  at ;  so  unlike  a  human  being,  indeed,  that  even  a 
believer  finds  uneasy  doubts  arise  in  his  mind.  They 
call  her  a  woman,  although  she  resembles  one  as  little 
as  she  does  a  man.  She  is  a  mulatto  with  a  head  like 
an  orang-outang,  short,  shaggy  hair,  skin  drawn  tight 
over  her  bony  frame,  and  clothing  consisting  of  a  few 


36  TANGIER 

black  rags.  Usually  she  is  to  be  seen  lying  prone  in 
the  middle  of  the  square  like  a  dead  person,  or  else 
crouched  in  a  corner  as  silent  and  motionless  as  though 
she  were  unconscious — that  is,  at  least,  when  the  boys 
are  not  tormenting  her.  When  that  is  the  case,  she 
turns  upon  them  with  tears  and  shrieks.  She  might 
be  fifteen  years  old  or  she  might  be  thirty,  her  de- 
formity makes  it  impossible  to  say;  she  is  without 
friends  or  home;  no  one  knows  her  name  or  whence 
she  came ;  at  night  she  lies  out  in  the  street  among 
the  dogs  and  refuse,  and  sleeps  during  most  of  the 
day ;  when  she  has  something  to  eat  she  laughs,  when 
she  is  hungry  she  cries;  in  clear  weather  she  is  a 
heap  of  dust,  when  it  rains,  a  pile  of  mud.  One 
night,  in  passing,  one  of  us  wrapped  a  silver  piece  in 
a  scrap  of  paper  and  slipped  it  into  her  hand,  so  as  to 
give  her  a  pleasant  surprise  when  she  awoke ;  the  next 
day  we  found  her  in  the  middle  of  the  square  sobbing 
violently  and  exhibiting  her  hand,  all  torn  and  bleed- 
ing. Some  one  had  stolen  her  money  and  hurt  her 
in  the  struggle.  Three  days  later  I  met  her,  all  in 
tears,  mounted  on  a  donkey,  supported  by  two  soldiers, 
and  followed  by  a  rabble  of  boys  making  game  of 
her.  Some  one  told  me  they  were  taking  her  to  the 
hospital.  Only  yesterday  I  saw  her  again,  lying 
asleep  by  the  carcass  of  a  dog  more  fortunate  than 
herself. 

At  last  I  have  found  out  who  those  fair,  unprepos- 
sessing-looking individuals  are  who  bestow  upon  me, 


TANGIER.  37 

in  passing  on  the  less  frequented  thoroughfares,  a  look 
in  which  there  seems  to  lurk  a  continual  longing  to 
murder  some  one.  They  are  Klfs  of  the  Berber  race, 
who  acknowledge  no  law  but  their  muskets,  and  re- 
cognize neither  kaid  nor  magistrate;  audacious 
pirates,  sanguinary  bandits  in  a  constant  state  of  re- 
bellion, inhabiting  the  mountains  from  the  Tetuan 
coast  to  the  Algerian  frontier — the  inhabitants,  in 
short,  of  that  renowned  Bif  in  which  no  stranger 
may  set  his  foot  unless  he  have  the  protection  of 
saints  and  sheiks  alike,  of  which  all  manner  of  wild 
tales  are  told,  the  neighboring  people  referring  to 
it  in  vague  terms  as  though  it  were  some  far-away, 
inaccessible  country.  They  are  frequently  to  be  met 
in  Tangier — tall,  robust  men,  usually  enveloped  in  a 
dark  cloak  trimmed  with  little  varicolored  tassels; 
some  of  them  have  their  faces  tattooed  in  yellow,  and 
all  alike  are  armed  with  long  guns,  the  red  cases  of 
which  they  wear  wrapped  around  their  foreheads  like 
turbans ;  they  go  about  in  groups,  talking  together 
in  low  tones,  with  bent  heads  and  quick,  observant 
eyes,  like  parties  of  desperadoes  looking  for  a  victim ; 
and  compared  with  them,  the  most  savage  looking 
Arab  I  meet  looks  like  a  friend  of  my  childhood. 

We  were  seated  at  dinner  after  dark  one  evening 
when  the  report  of  several  guns  was  heard  from  the 
square.  Running  out,  we  could  see,  still  a  good  way 
off,  a  curious  spectacle.  The  narrow  street  leading 
to  the  Sok  di  Barra  was  lighted  up  for  some  distance 


38  TANGIER 

by  large  torches  held  high  above  the  heads  of  the 
crowd,  and  surrounding  what  appeared  to  be  a  box 
or  chest  lashed  on  the  back  of  a  horse.  This  enig- 
matical procession  advanced  slowly  accompanied  by 
strains  of  mournful  music,  drawling  nasal  singing, 
and  the  yelping  of  dogs.  Standing  alone  for  some 
time  in  the  middle  of  the  square,  I  puzzled  my  brains 
in  the  effort  to  make  out  what  the  significance  of  that 
lugubrious  procession  might  be ;  perhaps  the  chest 
contained  a  dead  body,  or  a  person  condemned  to 
death,  or  a  monstrosity,  or  an  animal  intended  for  the 
sacrifice ;  this  uncertainty  gave  rise  to  a  feeling  of 
shrinking  and  repulsion,  and,  turning  away  with  a 
shudder,  I  re-entered  the  house.  A  moment  later  the 
others  came  trooping  in  with  the  true  solution  of  the 
mystery.  The  chest  contained — a  bride !  whom  her 
relatives  were  conducting  to  her  husband's  house. 

A  crowd  of  Arab  men  and  women  have  just  gone 
through  the  square,  preceded  by  six  old  men,  each 
carrying  a  large  flag  of  a  different  color.  They  were 
chanting  some  prayer  loudly  together  in  tones  of  sup- 
plication, and  with  so  mournful  an  aspect  that  I  found 
myself  quite  moved.  On  inquiry  I  was  told  that  they 
were  imploring  Allah  for  the  grace  of  rain.  I  fol- 
lowed them  in  the  direction  of  the  principal  Mosque, 
and  on  reaching  the  door — not  knowing  that  in  this 
country  Christians  are  rigorously  forbidden  to  set  foot 
inside  the  Mosques — was  about  to  enter,  when  an  old 
Arab  threw  himself  in  front  of  me,  and  muttering 


TANGIER.  39 

something  in  an  agitated  voice  which  I  understood  to 
mean  a  Fool,  what  are  you  about !"  pushed  me  back, 
much  as  one  would  drag  a  child  away  from  the  edge 
of  a  precipice.  I  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  be  satis- 
fied with  what  could  be  seen  from  the  street  of  the 
white-vaulted  court-yard,  not,  however,  distressing 
myself  overmuch,  after  having  visited  the  gigantic 
Mosques  of  Constantinople,  at  being  thus  excluded 
from  those  of  Tangier,  stripped  as  they  are  of  all 
architectural  beauty,  the  minarets  alone  excepted; 
and  even  these  heavy  square  or  hexagonal  towers, 
covered  with  many-colored  mosaics,  and  surmounted 
by  turrets  with  conical-shaped  roofs,  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  those  slight,  graceful  minarets  which 
shoot  heavenwards  like  shafts  of  white  ivory  from  the 
summits  of  Stambul's  seven  hills.  While  I  stood 
gazing  into  the  court-yard  a  woman  made  a  motion 
towards  me  with  her  hand  from  behind  the  ablution- 
ary  fountain.  I  might  give  the  impression  that  it 
was  a  kiss  she  wafted  across,  but  I  will  not,  the  fact 
being  that  she  shook  her  fist  at  me. 

I  have  been  up  to  the  Kasbah,  the  castle  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill  overlooking  Tangier.  It  is  a 
group  of  small  buildings  surrounded  by  ancient  walls, 
where  the  authorities,  soldiers,  and  prisoners  reside. 
I  found  only  a  couple  of  sleepy-looking  sentinels 
seated  before  a  doorway  at  the  end  of  a  deserted 
square,  and  a  few  beggars  stretched  on  the  ground, 
scorched  by  the  sun  and  devoured  by  flies.  From 


40  TANGIER 

this  point  a  comprehensive  view  of  Tangier  may  be 
obtained,  stretching  away  from  the  foot  of  the  Kas- 
bah  walls  and  climbing  an  opposite  hill-side.  The 
eye  almost  shrinks  from  that  expanse  of  dazzling 
white,  only  relieved  here  and  there  by  the  green  of 
some  fig  tree  shut  in  between  two  walls.  You  can 
make  out  distinctly  the  terrace  of  each  little  house, 
the  minarets  of  the  Mosques,  the  legation  flags,  the  bat- 
tlements on  the  walls,  the  solitary  shore,  the  deserted 
bay,  the  mountains  along  the  coast — a  view  suffi- 
ciently vast,  beautiful  and  imposing  to  drive  away 
the  most  acute  attack  of  homesickness.  As  I  stood 
gazing  at  this  scene  I  was  startled  by  hearing,  far 
above  me,  the  faint  tremulous  notes  of  a  human  voice 
uttering  some  words  in  an  unfamiliar  tongue.  I 
turned  and  had  looked  about  me  some  time  before  I 
finally  discovered  a  small  black  speck  on  the  summit 
of  a  Mosque  in  the  Kasbah.  It  was  the  muezzin 
calling  the  faithful  to  prayer,  and  pronouncing  the 
names  of  Allah  and  Mohammed  to  all  four  quarters 
of  the  heavens;  the  voice  ceased,  and  once  more  the 
mournful  silence  of  noontide  fell  upon  the  scene. 

It  is  a  real  misfortune  to  be  obliged  to  have  money 
changed  in  this  country.  I  gave  the  tobacconist  a 
French  franc,  out  of  which  I  was  to  receive  ten  sous 
in  change.  That  ferocious-looking  Moor  thereupon 
opened  a  drawer  and  proceeded  to  take  out  and  throw 
down  on  the  counter  handful  after  handful  of  black, 
battered-looking  coins,  until  there  were  enough  to 


rno 


foil 


.v!"  house, 
L"*,  the  bat- 
he deserted 
view  auffi- 
Irive  away 


'  •.'• 
re.  acma 


:    UI1R, 

C0ieew  from  the  Kasbah 


TANGIER  41 

make  a  porter's  ordinary  load ;  then,  counting  them 
over  rapidly,  he  waited  expectantly  for  me  to  fill  my 
pockets.  "  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  I,  at  the  same 
time  trying  to  get  back  my  franc,  "  but  the  fact  is 
I  am  not  strong  enough  to  deal  at  your  shop."  We 
finally  compromised,  I  purchasing  enough  additional 
cigars  to  reduce  the  change  to  one  pocketful  of  that 
ridiculous-looking  metal,  which  I  carried  off  to  have 
explained  to  me.  It  is  a  species  of  money  called  flou, 
made  of  copper,  whose  unit  is  worth  something  less 
than  a  centime,  and  which  is  diminishing  in  value 
every  day,  as  Morocco  is  flooded  with  it ;  and  the 
extent  to  which  the  Government  has  coined  and  de- 
based it  may  be  understood  from  the  fact  that,  while 
it  makes  all  its  payments  in  this  money,  it  will 
receive  only  silver  or  gold.  But  every  evil  has  its 
good  side,  and  thus  this  flou,  this  scourge  of  com- 
merce, possesses  the  inestimable  gift  of  warding  off 
all  manner  of  ills  from  the  fortunate  Moroccoans,  evil 
eye  in  especial,  by  virtue  of  the  so-called  Solomon's 
seal,  a  six-pointed  star  stamped  upon  the  face  of 
each  coin,  and  copied  from  the  original  ring  which 
is  inclosed  in  the  tomb  of  the  great  king,  who  con- 
trolled by  means  of  it  both  good  and  bad  spirits. 

There  is  only  one  promenade  in  Tangier — the 
beach,  which  extends  from  the  city  off  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Cape  Malabat — a  beach  covered  with  shells 
and  weeds  cast  up  by  the  sea  and  broken  by  large 
pools  of  water  rather  difficult  to  avoid  at  high  tide. 


42  TANGIER 

This  is  the  Champs  Elysee,  the  Cascine,  of  Tangier. 
The  promenade-hour  is  in  the  afternoon  towards  sun- 
set. At  that  time  about  fifty  Europeans  may  be  seen 
walking  up  and  down  in  couples  and  groups,  about  a 
hundred  feet  apart,  so  that  anyone  who  looks  down 
from  the  city  walls  can  easily  distinguish  each  indi- 
vidual a  mile  away.  Here,  for  instance,  comes  an 
English  lady  on  horseback,  accompanied  by  a  guide ; 
farther  on  are  two  Moors  from  the  country ;  after 
them  the  Spanish  consul,  with  his  wife  5  next,  a  saint  ; 
then  a  French  nurse,  with  two  children  ;  then  a  party 
of  Arab  peasant  women,  who  wade  through  one  of 
the  pools  with  legs  bare  to  above  the  knees  and 
carefully-covered  faces  j  and  beyond  them  at  inter- 
vals a  cap,  a  pot-hat,  a  white  hood,  a  chignon,  to 
the  very  last  figure,  which  surely  must  be  that  of  the 
Portuguese  Secretary  of  Legation,  wearing  the  light 
trousers  he  got  yesterday  from  Gibraltar ;  for  in  this 
little  European  colony  every  one  knows  everything 
about  every  one.  If  it  did  not  sound  disrespectful, 
I  should  say  that  they  all  looked  like  so  many  crimi- 
nals in  forced  exile,  marching  up  and  down,  or  a  party 
of  travellers  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  pirates 
on  a  desert  island,  and  were  watching  for  the  ship  to 
arrive  with  their  ransom-money. 

It  is  almost  easier  to  find  one's  way  about  in  the 
immensity  of  London  than  among  this  handful  of 
houses,  which  could  readily  be  tucked  away  in  one 
corner  of  Hyde  Park.  All  these  lanes,  alleys,  passage- 


TANGIER  43 

ways,  hardly  wide  enough  to  pass  through,  are  as 
much  alive  as  the  cells  of  a  beehive,  and  it  is  only 
by  giving  the  most  minute  attention  to  every  little 
detail  that  you  can  distinguish  one  neighborhood 
from  another.  Thus  far,  no  sooner  do  I  quit  the 
square  or  the  principal  street  than  I  promptly  lose 
myself;  and  in  broad  daylight  it  would  be  easy  for 
a  couple  of  Arabs  to  pinion  me  in  one  of  the  deserted 
passage-ways,  gag,  and  cause  me  to  disappear  for- 
ever from  off  the  face  of  the  earth  without  any  one 
being  a  particle  the  wiser.  And  yet  a  Christian  can 
wander  alone  through  that  labyrinth  by  day  or 
night  and,  among  those  savages,  with  greater  secu- 
rity than  in  some  of  our  own  cities.  The  poles  of 
half-a-dozen  European  flagstaff's  rising  from  a  neigh- 
boring terrace,  ominous  indications  of  an  invisible 
hand,  suffice  to  insure  a  security  which  is  not  always 
established  among  us  by  the  presence  of  armed  legions. 
What  a  difference  between  the  civilization,  for  in- 
stance, of  London  and  Tangier  !  But,  after  all,  every 
place  has  its  advantages.  There  we  have  those  great 
palaces  and  the  underground  railroad,  while  here  one 
can  go  about  with  his  coat  unbuttoned. 

In  all  Tangier  there  is  not  a  single  cart  or  carriage, 
no  noise  of  workshops,  no  sound  of  bells,  no  cry  of 
street- venders ;  and  you  never  see  any  indication 
of  haste  among  either  persons  or  things.  Even  the 
Europeans,  utterly  at  a  loss  what  to  do  with  them- 
selves, spend  hours  at  a  time  motionless  out  in  the 


44  TANGIER 

square.  Everything  is  in  a  state  of  repose  and  in- 
vites to  repose.  I  myself,  who  have  been  here  but  a 
few  short  days,  begin  to  feel  the  influence  of  this  soft, 
indolent  life.  On  reaching  the  Sok  di  Barra  to-day, 
I  found  myself  irresistibly  drawn  back  to  the  house, 
where,  after  reading  ten  pages,  the  book  dropped 
from  my  hand,  and  when  once  my  head  had  fallen 
back  on  the  cushions  of  the  arm-chair,  I  had  to 
repeat  at  least  two  chapters  from  "  Smiles "  before 
I  could  make  up  my  mind  to  raise  it  again,  while 
the  mere  thought  of  all  the  work  and  worry  await- 
ing me  at  home  exhausts  me.  These  blue  heavens, 
this  white  city,  are  images  of  monotonous,  eternal 
repose ;  little  by  little  they  come  to  represent  to 
those  who  inhabit  this  land  the  ideal  of  happiness, 
of  life.  That  is  why  my  notes  are  interrupted  at  this 
point.  The  indolence  of  Africa  has  vanquished  me. 
Among  the  numerous  persons  who  buzzed  about 
the  doors  of  the  legation  there  was  one  fine-looking 
young  Moor  who  from  the  first  day  especially  at- 
tracted me.  He  was  one  of  the  handsomest  Moors  I 
saw  in  Morocco — tall,  graceful,  with  black,  melancholy 
eyes  and  a  particularly  sweet  smile,  the  face  of  a  love- 
lorn Sultan  whom  Danhasch,  the  evil  spirit  in  the 
"  Thousand  and  One  Nights/'  might  have  placed  by 
the  side  of  Princess  Badoura  instead  of  Prince  Ca- 
maralzaman,  sure  that  she  would  not  complain  of  the 
change.  He  was  named  Mohammed,  and  was  the 
eighteen-year-old  son  of  a  wealthy  Moor  of  Tangier 


TANGIER  45 

under  the  protection  of  the  Italian  legation ;  a  fat, 
harmless  Mussulman,  whose  life  having  been  threat- 
ened for  some  time  by  an  enemy,  used  to  come  almost 
every  day  with  a  terrified  face  to  implore  the  minis- 
ter's help.  Mohammed  could  talk  a  little  Spanish  in 
the  Moorish  fashion,  that  is,  with  all  the  verbs  in  the 
infinitive,  and  this  had  enabled  him  to  scrape  acquaint- 
ance with  my  companions.  He  had  been  married  a 
few  days  before,  his  father  having  arranged  the  match 
in  order  to  make  him  settle  down,  and  having  pre- 
sented him  with  a  bride  of  fifteen  as  beautiful  as  him- 
self. Marriage,  however,  had  not,  to  all  appear- 
ance, worked  any  great  change  in  him,  and  he  was 
still,  as  he  told  us,  a  Turk  of  the  future,  which  consists 
in  drinking  a  glass  of  wine  now  and  then  on  the  sly, 
smoking  an  occasional  cigar,  being  very  tired  of  Tan- 
gier, frequenting  the  society  of  foreigners,  and  cherish- 
ing dreams  of  making  a  trip  to  Spain.  At  this  junc- 
ture, however,  the  attraction  which  drew  him  to  us 
was  the  hope  of  obtaining  through  our  influence  per- 
mission to  join  the  caravan  and  thus  to  visit  Fez,  the 
great  metropolis,  his  Rome  and  the  dream  of  his 
youth  5  and  to  this  end  he  showered  bows,  smiles  and 
hand-pressures  upon  us  with  a  prodigality  and  grace 
sufficient  to  subjugate  the  hearts  of  the  entire  imperial 
harem.  Like  almost  all  other  young  Moors  of  his 
station,  he  killed  time  by  lounging  about  from  one 
street  to  another,  and  from  group  to  group,  discussing 
the  new  horse  of  one  of  the  ministers,  the  departure 


46  TANGIER 

of  a  friend  for  Gibraltar,  the  arrival  of  a  ship,  the 
latest  robbery,  all  manner  of  womanish  tittle-tattle,  or 
else  sitting  immovable  and  taciturn  in  a  corner  of  the 
market  square,  with  his  thoughts — who  can  say- 
where  ? 

With  this  handsome  idler  is  indissolubly  connected 
my  recollections  of  the  first  Moorish  house  in  which 
I  set  foot,  and  the  first  Arab  repast  at  which  I  risked 
my  digestion.  One  day  his  father  invited  us  to  din- 
ner, a  thing  I  long  had  wished  for.  Late  one  even- 
ing, accordingly,  preceded  by  an  interpreter  and  es- 
corted by  four  servants  from  the  legation,  after 
threading  numerous  dark,  narrow  streets,  we  arrived 
at  an  arabesqued  door,  which  swung  back  at  our  ap- 
proach as  if  by  enchantment.  Traversing  a  small, 
bare,  white  room,  we  found  ourselves  in  the  heart  of 
the  establishment.  The  first  impression  was  of  a 
great  confusion  of  people,  a  strange  light  and  a  mar- 
vellous pomp  of  color.  The  host  advanced  to  meet 
us  accompanied  by  his  son  and  male  relatives,  all 
wearing  large  white  turbans ;  behind  them  were  the 
domestics,  all  hooded,  and  farther  still,  in  dark  corners 
and  around  the  edges  of  the  doors,  wondering  faces 
of  women  and  children  ;  while,  notwithstanding  the 
presence  of  so  many  people,  their  reigned  over  all  a 
profound  silence.  I  supposed  myself  to  be  in  a  room 
until,  happening  to  raise  my  eyes,  I  saw  the  stars. 
Like  all  Moorish  houses  it  was  a  small,  square  edifice, 
with  a  court  in  the  centre,  from  either  side  of  which 


TANGIER  47 

opened  two  long,  narrow  rooms  without  windows, 
having  large  arched  doorways  closed  with  curtains. 
The  outer  walls  were  white  as  snow,  the  cornices  of 
the  doorways  dentiled,  the  pavements  of  mosaic  ; 
here  and  there  were  small  double  windows  and  niches 
for  slippers.  The  house  was  in  gala  dress,  the  pave- 
ments covered  with  rugs ;  beside  the  doors  stood  high 
candelabra  with  red,  green  and  yellow  candles ;  on 
the  tables  were  mirrors  and  bunches  of  flowers.  The 
combined  effect  of  these  various  objects,  in  nowise 
strange  in  themselves,  was  odd  in  the  extreme.  There 
was  something  churchly  about  it  all,  and  at  the  same 
time  I  was  reminded  of  a  theatre  or  the  ball-room  of 
a  make-believe  royal  palace,  and  yet  it  had  a  certain 
graceful  charm  of  its  own.  The  arrangement  of  the 
light  and  combinations  of  color  were  altogether  novel, 
charged  with  a  deep  underlying  significance  that  cor- 
responded wonderfully  with  all  we  had  vaguely  felt 
and  imagined  about  these  people ;  as  though,  so  to 
speak,  it  were  the  light  and  color  of  their  religion, 
their  philosophy ;  and  beholding  the  interior  of  that 
dwelling,  we  for  the  first  time  gazed  into  the  soul  of 
the  race. 

After  some  moments  devoted  to  bows  and  vigorous 
hand-shakings,  we  were  invited  to  view  the  apart- 
ment of  the  newly-wedded  pair.  I,  with  the  imperti- 
nent curiosity  of  a  European,  tried,  though  vainly,  to 
meet  Mohammed's  eye.  His  head  was  lowered,  and 
he  was  hiding  his  blushes  beneath  the  shadow  of  his 


48  TANGIER 

turban.  The  nuptial-chamber  was  a  long,  narrow, 
lofty  apartment,  opening  on  the  court.  At  the  far- 
ther end,  on  one  side,  stood  the  bride's  bed,  and  op- 
posite it  that  of  Mohammed,  both  decorated  with  rich 
hangings  of  a  gorgeous  shade  of  crimson,  fringed 
around  the  top.  The  floor  was  spread  with  great 
Rabat  rugs,  and  the  walls  hung  with  yellow  and  red 
tapestry.  Between  the  two  beds  the  bride's  trous- 
seau was  displayed  hung  on  the  wall ;  stays,  petti- 
coats, trousers,  little  garments  of  strange,  unfamiliar 
cut,  combining  all  the  hues  of  a  flower-garden  in  full 
bloom  5  made  of  wool,  of  silk,  of  velvet  5  braided  and 
covered  with  gold  and  silver  stars,  like  the  outfit  of 
some  child  princess — verily  a  sight  to  make  a  writer's 
head  swim  and  an  actress  die  with  envy.  From 
thence  we  were  conducted  to  the  dining-room.  Here, 
too,  we  found  rugs,  tapestries,  bunches  of  flowers, 
great  candelabra  standing  on  the  floor,  couches,  cush- 
ions of  a  hundred  different  colors  piled  up  around  the 
walls,  and  two  richly-decked  bedsteads, — it  had  been 
the  host's  wedding-chamber, — near  one  of  which  the 
table  was  spread  contrary  to  the  Arab  fashion,  which 
is  to  place  the  dishes  on  the  floor  and  eat  without 
forks  or  spoons ;  while,  in  spite  of  the  Prophet,  we 
caught  the  sparkle  of  a  circle  of  venerable  bottles  cal- 
culated to  remind  us,  in  the  midst  of  the  voluptuous- 
ness of  a  Moorish  banquet,  that  we  were  still  Christians. 
Before  taking  our  places  at  table  we  seated  our- 
selves cross-legged  upon  a  rug  around  the  host's  sec- 


TANGIER  49 

retary,  a  handsome  turbaned  Moor,  who  made  tea, 
we  watching  him,  and  then  insisted  on  our  taking 
three  cups  apiece,  according  to  custom,  all  extrava- 
gantly sweet  and  flavored  with  mint.  Between  the 
cups  we  caressed  the  pig-tail  and  shaved  head  of  a 
pretty  youngster  of  four,  Mohammed's  youngest 
brother,  who  furtively  counted  our  fingers  to  be  quite 
sure  that  we  had  five,  like  Mohammedans.  After  fin- 
ishing our  tea  we  seated  ourselves  at  table — our  host, 
on  being  pressed,  consenting  to  bear  us  company — 
and  began  partaking  one  after  another  of  the  famous 
Arab  dishes,  objects  of  our  ardent  curiosity.  I  at- 
tacked the  first  with  great  confidence.  Merciful  heaven ! 
My  first  impulse  was  to  fall  upon  the  cook.  Every 
shade  of  expression  which  might  cross  the  face  of  a 
man  suddenly  attacked  by  colic,  or  on  hearing  of  the 
unexpected  failure  of  his  banker,  must  have  appeared 
upon  mine.  In  an  instant  I  understood  perfectly  how 
a  race  who  ate  such  food  must  necessarily  believe  in 
another  God  and  hold  essentially  different  views  of 
human  life  from  our  own.  I  can  give  no  idea  of  the 
taste  left  in  my  mouth  except  by  comparing  myself 
to  some  unfortunate  condemned  to  swallow  the  con- 
tents of  all  the  bottles  and  boxes  in  a  hair-dresser's 
establishment.  There  was  a  suggestion  of  soap,  wax, 
pomatum,  of  unguents,  dyes,  cosmetics;  of  every  thing, 
in  short,  most  unsuited  to  enter  a  human  mouth.  At 
each  new  dish  we  exchanged  glances  of  terror  and 
dismay.  The  materials  must  have  been  good,  too, 
VOL.  I.— 4 


50  TANGIER 

in  themselves,  for  there  was  poultry,  mutton,  game 
and  fish  j  huge  dishes  of  inviting  appearance,  but 
everything  swimming  in  the  most  horrible  sauces, 
greasy,  anointed,  perfumed,  prepared  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  a  comb  seemed  a  more  fitting  instrument  to 
dip  into  them  than  a  fork ;  and  yet  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  swallow  some  of  each,  so  I  comforted 
myself  by  repeating  inwardly  those  lines  of  Aleardi : 

Oh  nella  vita 

Qualche  delitto  icognito  ne  pesa, 
Qualche  cosa  si  espia, 

The  only  eatable  thing  was  the  roast  mutton.  Not 
even  the  Kuskussu,  the  Moorish  national  dish,  pre- 
pared with  wheat  'ground  about  as  fine  as  bran, 
steamed  and  dressed  with  milk  or  broth — a  perfidious 
imitation  of  risotto — not  even  this  famous  Kuskussu, 
which  many  Europeans  really  like,  could  I  succeed 
in  swallowing  without  changing  color.  And  there 
actually  was  one  of  our  party  who  partook  of  every- 
thing ;  a  consoling  fact,  however,  since  it  demonstrates 
clearly  that  the  great  men  are  not  all  dead  yet  in 
Italy.  At  every  mouthful  our  host  interrogated  us 
with  anxious  looks,  and  we,  with  wildly-rolling  eyes, 
would  exclaim  in  chorus,  "  Excellent !  delicious !"  and 
then  hastily  swallow  a  glass  of  wine  to  revive  our 
sinking  courage.  At  a  certain  point  in  the  repast 
there  came  a  sudden  burst  of  music  from  the  court, 
which  made  us  all  jump  to  our  feet.  It  was  a  party 


TANGIER  51 

of  three  musicians  come,  according  to  Moorish  custom, 
to  enliven  the  feast  j  three  Arabs  with  big  eyes  and 
hooked  noses,  dressed  in  red  and  white,  one  playing  a 
sort  of  lute,  another  a  mandolin,  and  the  third  a  small 
drum.  They  seated  themselves  just  outside  the  door 
of  our  apartment,  near  a  small  niche  in  which  they 
deposited  their  slippers,  we  resumed  our  places,  the 
dishes  were  once  more  passed  around  in  turn  (there 
were  twenty-three  in  all,  if  I  remember  rightly,  not 
counting  the  fruit),  our  expressions  continued  to 
change,  and  the  corks  to  fly.  Little  by  little  our  fre- 
quent libations,  the  scent  of  the  flowers,  the  fumes  of 
the  aloes  rising  from  chased  perfumery-stands  from 
Fez,  and  that  wild  Arab  music  which,  by  dint  of 
continually  repeating  the  same  mysterious  lament, 
ends  by  taking  possession  of  the  soul  with  irresistible 
force,  caused  a  sort  of  silent,  mystic  intoxication  to 
steal  over  our  senses,  and  for  a  few  minutes  each  one 
of  us  seemed  to  feel  the  pressure  of  a  turban  on  his 
brow,  of  a  Sultana's  head  upon  his  breast.  Dinner 
finally  ended,  we  arose  and  scattered  ourselves  about 
the  room,  the  courtyard  and  vestibule,  gazing  around 
and  examining  everything  with  childish  curiosity. 
In  every  dark  corner  stood  an  Arab,  erect  as  a  statue, 
wrapped  in  his  long  white  cloak.  The  curtains  had 
been  drawn  across  the  door  of  the  nuptial-chamber, 
and  through  the  crack  could  be  seen  a  great  stir  and 
movement  of  veiled  heads ;  lights  came  and  went  in 
the  upper  windows ;  we  could  hear  the  rustling  gar- 


52  TANGIER. 

ments  and  lowered  voices  of  invisible  persons ;  all 
around  and  about  us  there  was  a  ferment  of  unseen 
life,  telling  us  that  although  we  were  within  the  walls 
we  were  still  outside  the  home ;  that  the  beauty,  the 
tenderness,  the  soul  of  the  family  had  taken  refuge 
in  its  secret  recesses ;  that  we  were  the  exhibition, 
and  that  the  house  remained  for  us  a  mystery.  Later 
on  the  governess  of  the  minister's  household  appeared 
from  one  of  the  doorways ;  she  had  been  to  call  on  the 
bride,  and  exclaimed,  as  she  passed  us,  "  Ah !  if  you 
could  only  see  her 5  such  a  dear  little  rosebud;  a  creat- 
ure from  Paradise!"  And  still  the  music  kept  up  its 
wailing  sound,  the  smoke  from  the  burning  aloes 
ascended  through  the  heavy  air,  and  we  wandered 
and  gazed,  our  imaginations  working,  working,  and 
still  working,  when  at  last  we  issued  from  that  glow- 
ing, perfumed  atmosphere,  and  in  profound  silence 
threaded  our  way  by  the  light  of  a  single  lantern 
through  the  narrow,  gloomy  streets. 

One  evening  the  news  was  passed  about  from 
mouth  to  mouth  that  the  long-expected  arrival  of  a 
party  of  Aissowieh  would  take  place  on  the  following 
day.  The  Aissowieh  are  one  of  the  principal  re- 
ligious confraternities  of  Morocco,  founded,  like  all 
the  rest,  through  the  direct  inspiration  of  God  by  a 
saint  named  Sidi  Mohammed-ben-Alssa,  born  at 
Mequinez  about  two  centuries  ago,  whose  biography 
consists  of  a  long,  rambling  recital  of  miracles  and 
marvellous  adventures  variously  recounted.  The 


\O 


-   fe:,i  lowered  voie^  nil 

d  *JH{  about  us  thr-r.  •  •  •  ,  ,-n 

w«  wore  still  "Utsid-.  tu«-  home  ;  that  th.  the 

tenderness,  the  H--UJ  <4  the  family  had  taken  r«:i.ig« 
in  it*  s«'.«.-rf  t  rocts^-j. ;  that  we  were  the  exhibition, 
and  that  fiw  house  rc-->  .*>«!  for  us  a  mystery.  Later 
on  the  goveraew  of  tl. •  ^t ..>r's  household  appeared 
from  one  of  the  doorwm  had  been  to  call  on  the 

v  !,-«:  .    •!     '  --1  us,  "Ah!  if  you 


r  up  its 

. 


mouth  to  mouth  that  the  long~exj 
party  of  Aisscwu-h  would  tak-    }  ..•..*_•*  on  the  foli- 
day.     The  Aissowieh  ar--   one  of  the  principal  re- 
ligious confraternities  of  Morocco,  founded,  like  all 
the  rest,  through  the  direct  inspiration  of  ' 
saint   named    Sidi    Mohjunrned-ben-Alssa,   born    at 
Inez  about  tw-  whose  biography 

of  a  long,  rai^  miracles  and 


TANGIER  53 

Aissowieh  claim  to  have  won  the  special  protection 
of  Heaven  by  their  constant  prayers  and  the  exercise 
of  certain  peculiar  rites  through  which  they  keep 
alive  in  their  hearts  not  faith,  exactly,  but  a  sort  of 
exaltation,  a  religious  fever,  a  divine  frenzy,  which 
breaks  out  occasionally  into  wild  acts  of  extravagance 
and  ferocity.  They  have  a  large  Mosque  at  Fez 
which  is  the  chief  establishment  of  their  order,  and 
from  whence  they  issue  forth  once  a  year  and  spread 
themselves  in  detachments  throughout  the  entire  em- 
pire, collecting  such  members  of  the  society  as  may 
be  scattered  about  in  the  various  towns  and  provinces, 
to  take  part  in  the  annual  feasts.  Their  rites,  re- 
sembling somewhat  those  of  the  Howling  and  Dancing- 
Dervishes  of  the  East,  consist  in  a  sort  of  frenzied  dance 
accompanied  by  leaps,  contortions,  and  cries,  by  dint 
of  which  they  work  themselves  up  until  they  become 
more  and  more  excited,  more  furious,  more  frantic, 
and  utterly  beside  themselves,  grind  wood  and  iron 
with  their  teeth,  burn  their  flesh  with  red-hot  coals, 
cut  themselves  with  knives,  eat  mud  and  stones,  tear 
live  animals  asunder  and  devour  the  reeking  flesh, 
and  finally  drop  to  the  ground  spent  and  unconscious. 
The  Aissowieh  whom  I  saw  at  Tangier  did  not  in- 
dulge in  any  such  excesses  as  these,  and  I  imagine 
that  very  few,  and  they  seldom,  go  to  such  lengths  in 
these  days ;  but  what  I  did  see  was  enough  to  make 
an  indelible  impression  upon  my  mind.  The  Belgian 
minister  invited  us  to  witness  the  sight  from  the  ter- 


54  TANGIER 

race  of  his  house  which  overlooks  the  principal  street 
of  Tangier,  along  which  the  procession  would  have 
to  pass  to  reach  the  Mosque.  They  were  expected 
to  arrive  at  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  As  I 
came  down  from  the  Sok  di  Barra  gate  about  an  hour 
earlier  the  street  was  already  thronged  with  people, 
and  the  roofs  of  the  houses  covered  with  Arab  and 
Jewish  women,  the  brilliant  colors  of  whose  dresses 
made  the  white  terraces  look  like  great  boxes  of 
flowers.  At  the  appointed  hour  all  eyes  were  turned 
towards  the  gate  at  the  end  of  the  street,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  the  forerunners  of  the  party  came  in 
sight.  The  whole  street  was  so  crowded  with  people 
that  until  they  got  quite  near  it  was  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish the  Aissowieh  from  the  spectators.  For 
some  little  time  I  could  see  nothing  but  a  swaying 
mass  of  hooded  heads,  and  in  their  midst,  other  bare 
ones  which  appeared  and  disappeared,  their  owners 
being  apparently  engaged  in  knocking  one  another 
about.  Above  the  heads  floated  a  few  flags,  and 
from  time  to  time  a  simultaneous  cry  arose  from  many 
throats.  The  crowd  slowly  advanced,  little  by  little 
we  began  to  note  a  certain  method  in  the  movements 
of  all  those  heads.  The  foremost  formed  a  circle, 
those  behind  them  a  double  line,  beyond  them  was 
another  circle,  and  so  on.  But  of  this  order  I  can- 
not be  perfectly  sure  either,  for  in  my  eager  curiosity 
to  observe  the  individuals  themselves  as  closely  as 
possible  it  is  very  likely  that  the  exact  order  of  the 


TANGIER.  55 

movements  of  the  whole  may  have  escaped  me.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  moments  the  leaders  of  the  party 
were  directly  below  our  terrace.  My  first  impression 
was  a  mingling  of  horror  and  pity.  There  were  two 
lines  of  men  facing  one  another,  wearing  cloaks  and 
long  white  tunics,  holding  on  to  each  other  by  the 
hands,  or  arms  or  shoulders,  keeping  time  with  their 
feet,  swaying,  turning  their  heads  from  side  to  side, 
and  giving  vent  to  a  dull,  murmuring  sound,  broken 
by  sobs,  chokings,  gaspings,  and  interjections  of 
wrath  and  despair.  Nothing  but  Rubens'  The  Pos- 
sessed %  a  Devilj  or  Goya's  liaised  from  the  Dead,  or 
Poe's  The  Facts  in  the  Case  of  M.  Valdemar,  could 
give  the  faintest  idea  of  the  look  on  those  faces.  They 
were  livid,  convulsed,  with  staring  eyes  and  foaming 
mouths ;  feverish,  epileptic  ;  some  wearing  a  fixed, 
mysterious  smile,  others  the  whites  of  whose  eyes 
could  only  be  seen,  others  contracted  as  if  with 
some  fearful  spasm,  and  others  which  were  like 
dead  men's  faces.  From  time  to  time  they  would 
make  a  strange  gesture  to  one  another  with  swing- 
ing arms,  and  then  that  simultaneous  cry  would 
arise,  piercing  and  terrible,  as  of  persons  receiving  a 
death-wound  j  then  proceeding  a  few  steps  further 
they  would  again  begin  to  dance,  groaning  and  strik- 
ing themselves,  a  confused,  surging  mass  of  cowls, 
wide  sleeves,  hairy  tufts,  long  locks,  thick  shocks  of 
hair  divided  up  into  snake-like  bands.  A  few  of  the 
more  ardent  spirits  went  up  and  down  between  the 


56  TANGIER 

lines  staggering  like  drunken  men  and  striking  against 
the  walls  and  doorways ;  others  seemed  to  be  rapt  in 
a  sort  of  ecstasy,  walking  slowly  along  erect,  with 
heads  thrown  back,  half-closed  eyes  and  hanging 
arms ;  others,  completely  exhausted  and  no  longer 
able  either  to  cry  out  or  stand  erect,  were  supported 
under  either  armpit  by  their  companions,  or  swept 
unresistingly  along  by  the  crowd.  The  dance  be- 
came more  and  more  disorderly  and  the  noise  more 
deafening.  Heads  were  shaken  until  it  seemed  as 
though  the  collar-bones  must  break,  and  terrible  gasp- 
ings  came  from  surcharged  lungs.  From  all  those 
bodies,  reeking  with  perspiration,  there  arose  a  sick- 
ening smell  like  that  from  a  cage  of  wild  animals. 
From  time  to  time  one  or  another  of  those  convulsed 
faces  would  suddenly  be  raised  towards  our  terrace, 
and  a  pair  of  wild-looking  eyes  gazing  full  into  my 
own  cause  me  to  draw  precipitately  back.  From 
moment  to  moment  my  inward  impression  of  the 
scene  would  undergo  a  change.  Now  it  seemed  noth- 
ing but  an  extravagant  masquerade,  and  I  was 
tempted  to  laugh ;  then  it  suggested  the  revels  of  a 
crowd  of  lunatics,  of  sick  persons  in  the  delirium  of 
fever,  of  drunken  galley-slaves,  of  men  condemned 
to  death  who  were  endeavoring  to  deaden  their  ter- 
ror, and  my  heart  would  suddenly  contract,  only  to 
forget  the  next  moment  everything  but  the  savage 
beauty  of  the  scene  and  lose  myself  in  artistic  en- 
joyment. But  little  by  little  the  underlying  mean- 


TANGIER  57 

ing  of  that  rite  took  possession  of  my  mind ;  the  sen- 
sations which  those  frenzies  were  the  interpretation 
of  and  which  every  one  of  us  must  often  and  often 
have  experienced,  the  struggle  of  the  human  soul 
laboring  under  the  burden  of  the  infinite,  awoke  in 
me,  and  half-unconsciously  I  put  that  tumult  into 
words  as  I  understood  it.  Yes,  I  feel  thee,  oh,  mys- 
terious and  tremendous  power;  I  struggle  in  the  grasp 
of  thine  invisible  hand;  the  idea  of  thee  oppresses  me; 
I  cannot  contain  it ;  my  heart  is  bursting,  my  reason 
departs,  this  clay  wrapping  is  rent  asunder  ! 

And  so  they  passed  on,  crowding  by,  pale,  di- 
shevelled, emitting  those  piercing  cries  with  what 
seemed  to  be  their  dying  breath.  A  stumbling  old 
man,  the  image  of  a  frenzied  Lear,  detached  him- 
self from  the  procession  and  made  as  though  he 
would  have  dashed  his  brains  out  against  a  neigh- 
boring wall  had  his  companions  not  dragged  him 
back  in  time.  One  young  man  fell  full  length  on 
the  ground  unconscious ;  another,  his  hair  floating 
over  his  shoulders,  his  face  buried  in  his  hands,  went 
by  with  long  strides,  his  body  bowed  to  the  earth, 
like  one  accursed  of  God.  There  were  Bedouins, 
Moors,  Berbers,  negroes,  giants,  mummies,  satyrs 
with  faces  of  cannibals  and  saints,  birds  of  prey, 
sphinxes,  Indian  idols,  furies,  fauns,  devils.  There 
may  have  been  between  three  and  four  hundred,  and 
in  less  than  an  hour  they  had  all  passed.  The  last 
to  come  were  two  women  (women  being  admitted  to 


58  TANGIER. 

the  order  as  well)  who  looked  as  though  they  had 
been  buried  alive  and  had  burst  open  their  tombs — 
two  walking  skeletons,  dressed  all  in  white,  their  hair 
hanging  over  their  faces,  with  staring  eyes  and  foam- 
ing mouths,  completely  exhausted,  yet  still  animated 
by  convulsive  movements  of  which  they  themselves 
seemed  no  longer  conscious  j  writhing,  shrieking, 
stumbling  as  they  went,  while  between  them  rose 
the  gigantic  figure  of  an  old  man,  with  a  face  like 
a  hundred-years-old  wizard,  dressed  in  a  sweeping 
tunic,  who,  stretching  out  two  long,  emaciated  arms, 
laid  his  hands  on  the  head  of  one  and  the  other  of 
them  in  turn  with  a  gesture  of  protection,  helping 
and  raising  them  again  when  they  fell.  Behind  these 
three  apparitions,  pushing  and  jostling  one  another, 
came  a  throng  of  armed  Arabs,  women,  beggars  and 
children,  the  entire  barbarous  howling  mob  a  mass 
of  human  misery,  which,  pouring  into  the  square, 
disappeared  from  our  view. 

Another  interesting  sight  to  be  witnessed  in  Tan- 
gier is  the  feast  which  is  celebrated  on  Mohammed's 
birthday.  I  think  it  possibly  made  a  particularly 
vivid  impression  on  me  owing  to  my  having  hap- 
pened on  it  rather  accidentally. 

Returning  one  day  from  a  walk  along  the  shore,  I 
heard  the  sound  of  guns  being  fired  off  in  the  Sok 
di  Barra.  Hastening  thither,  I  at  first  could  hardly 
recognize  the  place,  so  completely  was  it  metamor- 
phosed. From  the  city  walls  to  the  very  summit  of 


TANGIER  59 

the  hill  it  was  swarming  with  Arabs,  an  entirely  white 
and  extraordinarily  animated  crowd.  There  were,  I 
believe,  only  about  three  thousand  persons  in  all,  but 
they  mingled  and  moved  about  so  constantly  as  to 
appear  countless — a  curious  optical  delusion.  Upon 
every  mound,  as  though  seated  upon  so  many  bal- 
conies, were  groups  of  Arab  women,  squatted  on  the 
ground  in  the  Eastern  fashion,  immovable,  their  faces 
turned  towards  the  lower  end  of  the  Sok.  On  one 
side  the  crowd,  separating  in  two  dark  masses,  left 
an  open  space  between,  down  which  a  troop  of  horse- 
men hurled  themselves  full  tilt,  in  line  of  battle,  at 
the  same  time  discharging  their  long  guns ;  on  the 
other,  groups  of  men  and  women  had  gathered  about 
the  various  performers — some  playing  ball,  others 
fencing  or  dancing,  serpent-charmers,  story-tellers, 
musicians,  soldiers.  From  the  summit  of  the  hill, 
beneath  a  pointed  tent  open  in  front,  gleamed  the 
huge  white  turban  of  the  Vice-Governor  of  Tangier, 
who,  seated  on  the  ground,  in  the  midst  of  a  circle 
of  Moors,  presided  over  the  fete.  From  that  point 
one  could  see  below  in  the  crowd  the  soldiers  belong- 
ing to  the  various  legations,  dressed  in  their  pompous 
scarlet  caftans,  a  few  high  hats,  an  occasional  parasol 
belonging  to  one  of  the  consuls'  ladies,  and  the  two 
artists,  Ussi  and  Biseo,  portfolio  and  pencil  in  hand ; 
beyond  the  crowd  Tangier  5  beyond  Tangier  the  sea. 
The  reports  of  the  guns,  shouts  of  the  horsemen, 
ringing  of  the  water-carriers'  bells,  gay  cries  of  the 


60  TANGIER. 

women,  the  music  of  pipes,  horns,  and  tambourines, 
all  combined  to  form  a  hurly -burly  not  to  be  described, 
and  added  not  a  little  to  the  strange  effect  produced 
by  that  wild  scene  under  the  dazzling  rays  of  the 
noonday  sun. 

Curiosity  attracted  me  in  a  dozen  different  direc- 
tions at  once,  but  a  cry  of  admiration  from  some 
women  near  by  drew  me  first  of  all  to  a  group  of 
cavalry.  There  were  a  dozen  tall  fellows,  wearing 
peaked  fezes,  white  capes,  orange,  red,  and  blue 
caftans,  and  in  their  midst  a  youth  dressed  with 
effeminate  elegance,  the  son  of  the  Governor  of  the 
Rif.  Drawing  up  in  line  at  the  foot  of  the  city  walls, 
with  faces  turned  towards  the  open  country,  the  Gov- 
ernor's son  in  the  middle,  they  raised  their  hands, 
and  with  one  accord  broke  into  a  run.  For  the  first 
few  paces  there  was  some  slight  uncertainty  and  dis- 
order, then  those  twelve  horses,  with  loosened  bridles 
and  bellies  even  with  the  ground,  seemed  to  be  parts 
of  a  single  body — a  furious  monster  with  twelve 
heads,  many-colored,  devouring  space.  The  riders, 
nailed  to  their  saddles,  with  heads  erect  and  cloaks 
floating  in  the  wind,  raised  their  guns  aloft,  pressed 
them  convulsively  against  their  shoulders,  and  fired, 
at  the  same  time  raising  a  simultaneous  cry  of  tri- 
umphant fury,  then  vanished  in  a  cloud  of  dust  and 
smoke.  In  a  few  moments  they  slowly  reappeared, 
sitting  their  foaming  and  bloody  steeds  in  attitudes 
of  weary  disdain,  and  presently  the  performance  was 


TANGIER  61 

re-enacted.  At  each  fresh  charge  the  Arab  women, 
like  ladies  at  a  tournament,  greeted  the  performers 
with  a  peculiar  cry  of  their  own,  consisting  in  the 
rapid  repetition  of  the  monosyllable  /w,  which  sounds 
like  the  shrill  exclamations  of  delighted  children. 

Next  I  went  to  watch  a  party  of  about  fifteen 
Arabs  play  ball — boys,  full-grown  men,  and  old  ones 
with  white  beards  ;  some  had  guns  slung  across  their 
shoulders,  others  wore  swords.  The  ball  was  of 
leather,  about  the  size  of  an  orange.  One  of  them 
took  it,  dropped  it  on  the  ground,  and  kicked  it  in 
the  air,  all  the  others  trying  to  catch  it  before  it 
fell,  and  the  one  who  succeeded  doing  as  the  first 
had  done.  Thus  the  group  of  players,  intent  on  fol- 
lowing the  ball,  got  farther  and  farther  away,  until  at 
last  with  one  accord  they  returned  to  the  spot  they 
started  from.  But  the  curious  thing  about  this  game 
consisted  in  the  movements  of  the  players.  They 
used  dance-steps,  measured  gestures,  actors'  poses, 
preserving  a  mien  that  was  almost  ceremonious,  and 
contradictory  as  well,  being  both  courteous  and  vio- 
lent, circling  about  with  a  sort  of  rhythm  and  system 
the  rule  for  which  I  was  unable  to  discover.  They 
ran  and  leaped  all  together  in  a  contracted  space, 
pressing  close  to  one  another  and  intermingling 
without  interchanging  a  blow  or  making  the  slight- 
est disturbance.  The  ball  flew  up  in  the  air,  dis- 
appeared, bounded  in  among  their  legs  and  above 
their  heads  as  though  no  one  had  touched  it  and  it 


62  TANGIER 

were  being  blown  hither  and  thither  by  contrary 
winds,  and  all  of  this  strenuous  effort  was  unaccom- 
panied by  a  word,  an  exclamation,  or  a  smile.  Old 
and  young  alike  were  perfectly  silent  and  serious, 
and  as  intent  upon  the  game  as  though  it  had  been 
some  melancholy  task  imposed  upon  them,  no  sound 
being  heard  other  than  their  panting  breath  and  the 
patter  of  their  slippers. 

A  little  farther  on  some  negroes  were  dancing  in 
the  midst  of  another  circle  of  spectators  to  the  sound 
of  a  fife  and  a  small  conical  drum,  beaten  with  a 
wooden  stick  curved  like  a  half-moon.  There  were 
eight  of  them,  great  powerful  fellows,  as  black  and 
shiny  as  ebony,  wearing  nothing  but  a  long  snow- 
white  tunic  fastened  around  the  waist  by  a  green 
cord.  Seven  of  them  holding  one  another  by  the 
hand  formed  a  circle  about  the  eighth,  and  they  all 
danced  together,  or  rather  kept  time  to  the  music 
with  an  indescribable  movement  of  the  hips  which 
set  my  toes  in  motion,  and  hardly  any  change  of 
position,  wearing  upon  their  faces  at  the  same  time 
that  satyr-like  smile,  that  expression  of  purely  animal 
enjoyment  of  stupid  bliss  peculiar  to  the  negro  race. 
While  I  stood  watching  this  scene  two  boys  of  about 
ten,  who  were  among  the  lookers-on,  gave  a  sample 
of  the  ferocity  of  the  Arab  nature  which  I  am  not 
likely  soon  to  forget.  Quite  suddenly,  and  with  no 
apparent  cause,  they  leaped  upon  one  another,  and 
closing  like  a  couple  of  tigers,  began  to  tear  and  bite 


TANGIEB.  63 

each  other's  faces  and  necks  with  teeth  and  nails,  and 
with  a  fury  that  was  really  horrible  to  witness.  Two 
strong  men,  by  using  all  their  force,  succeeded,  with 
some  difficulty,  in  separating  them,  and  were  obliged 
to  keep  hold  of  them  to  prevent  their  renewing  the 
attack. 

The  fencers  were  very  funny.  There  were  four 
fencing  with  sticks  in  pairs,  and  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  give  any  idea  of  the  extravagance  and  awk- 
wardness of  the  "  school."  I  call  it  a  "  school "  ad- 
visedly, because  I  saw  fencing  of  the  same  style  in 
other  cities  in  Morocco.  They  indulge  in  movements 
like  those  of  a  rope-dancer,  perfectly  objectless  leaps 
in  the  air,  contortions  of  the  body,  kicks  and  blows 
carefully  announced  beforehand  with  wild  flourishes 
of  the  arms,  every  movement  made  with  a  kindly  de- 
liberation that  would  allow  one  of  our  fencers  ample 
time  to  stand  on  guard,  and  each  combatant  armed 
with  an  enormous  weight  of  wood,  without  there  being 
the  smallest  risk  of  anyone  receiving  so  much  as  a 
knock.  The  group  of  Arab  spectators  stood,  how- 
ever, in  open-mouthed  admiration,  a  number  of  them 
stealing  looks  at  me  from  time  to  time  to  see  if  I 
were  not  struck  with  astonishment.  Wishing  to 
gratify  them,  I  pretended  to  be  mightily  pleased,  upon 
which  some  of  them  drew  closer  together  in  order  to 
push  me  a  little  more  to  the  front,  and  I  presently 
found  myself  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  Arabs,  and 
had  the  chance  I  had  been  wanting  to  make  a  closer 


64  TANGIER. 

study  of  the  race,  of  those  barely  perceptible  move- 
ments of  the  nostrils,  lips  and  eyelids,  of  the  marks 
on  the  skin,  and  the  odor — in  short,  of  all  those  minor 
details  which  escape  the  observer  as  he  passes  along 
the  streets,  but  which  nevertheless  seem  to  explain 
so  much.  One  of  the  soldiers  belonging  to  the  Italian 
legation  espying  me  from  a  distance  hemmed  in  in 
this  way,  and  imagining  that  I  was  an  unwilling 
prisoner,  insisted  upon  liberating  me  whether  I  would 
or  no  by  means  of  a  free  use  of  elbows  and  fists. 

The  group  gathered  about  the  story-teller  was  the 
smallest  of  any,  but  the  most  striking.  I  joined  it 
just  as,  the  customary  opening  prayer  being  ended, 
the  orator  was  beginning  his  tale.  He  was  a  man  of 
about  fifty,  almost  black,  with  a  jetty  beard  and  great 
shining  eyes,  enveloped  like  all  the  Morocco  story- 
tellers in  a  large  white  cloth  bound  about  the  head 
with  a  strip  of  camel's  hair,  which  lent  him  something 
of  the  dignity  of  a  priest  of  ancient  times.  Standing 
erect  in  the  middle  of  his  circle  of  auditors,  he  held 
forth  slowly  and  in  high-pitched  tones,  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  drum  and  an  oboe.  He  may  have  been 
recounting  some  tale  of  love,  or  the  adventures  of  a 
celebrated  bandit,  or  the  vicissitudes  of  a  sultan's 
career.  I  could  not  understand  a  single  word,  but 
his  gestures  were  so  expressive,  his  voice  so  sympa- 
thetic, his  face  so  speaking,  that  from  time  to  time  I 
was  able  to  catch  a  ray  of  meaning.  He  seemed  to 
be  describing  a  long  journey  ;  he  imitated  the  gait  of 


TANGIER.  65 

the  weary  horse,  pointed  to  the  measureless  stretch 
of  horizon,  searched  for  any  sign  of  water,  let  his 
head  and  hands  droop  like  those  of  a  man  utterly 
spent ;  then  all  at  once,  descrying  some  object  far  off 
in  the  distance,  he  seemed  at  first  to  hesitate,  now 
doubting,  now  believing  the  evidence  of  his  eyes, 
until  plucking  up  courage  he  pushed  forward,  and 
finally  returning  thanks  to  Allah,  and  laughing  aloud 
for  joy,  sank  down  with  a  great  sigh  of  relief  in  the 
shade  of  a  delicious  oasis  which  he  had  abandoned  all 
hope  of  reaching.  The  audience  remained  silent  and 
breathless  throughout  the  recital,  reflecting  in  their 
faces  every  word  uttered  by  the  story-teller ;  and 
standing  thus  with  their  souls  in  their  eyes,  they  re- 
vealed fully  the  frank,  ingenuous  nature  which  lies  dor- 
mant beneath  those  savage  exteriors.  The  orator 
moved  to  the  right  and  left,  sprang  forward,  crouched 
on  the  ground,  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  lifted 
his  arms  to  heaven,  and  raised  his  voice  as  he  grew 
gradually  more  and  more  excited;  the  musicians 
played  with  ever-increasing  fervor ;  the  listeners 
drew  closer  together,  becoming  more  breathless  as 
the  tale  went  on,  until  at  last  it  reached  its  climax  in 
a  thundering  cry,  the  instruments  flew  up  in  the  air, 
and  the  group,  much  affected,  dispersed,  to  make 
room  for  a  fresh  audience. 

Three  musicians,  who  had  succeeded  in  attracting 
a  larger  crowd  than  anyone  else,  made,  by  their  ap- 
pearance, movements  and  music,  a  very  extraordinary 
VOL.  I.— 6 


66  TANGIER 

impression  upon  me.  They  were  all  three  bow-legged, 
very  tall,  and  curved  from  head  to  foot  like  those  gro- 
tesque figures  which  stand  for  capital  letters  in  cer- 
tain illustrated  papers.  One  played  a  flute,  another  a 
small  drum  with  little  bells  attached  to  it,  and  the  third 
an  amazing  instrument,  like  a  clarionet  combined  in 
some  remarkable  way  with  two  hunting-horns,  which 
gave  forth  the  most  unheard-of  sounds.  These  three 
men,  clad  in  a  few  rags,  pressed  close  to  one  another's 
sides  as  though  they  had  been  strapped  together,  and 
playing  continuously  and  desperately  their  one  solitary 
air,  the  same,  no  doubt,  that  they  had  been  playing 
for  the  past  fifty  years,  revolved  slowly  around  in  a 
circle.  I  do  not  know  how  they  moved  j  it  seemed  to 
be  a  cross  between  dancing  and  walking,  certain  quick 
motions  like  a  rooster  pecking,  certain  liftings  of  the 
shoulders,  done  by  all  three  simultaneously  and  me- 
chanically, and  so  unlike  any  actions  common  among 
us,  so  altogether  new  and  odd,  that  the  longer  I 
watched  them  the  more  puzzled  I  became,  feeling  as 
though  they  must  be  the  expression  of  an  idea  or 
have  their  origin  in  some  peculiarity  of  the  Arab  race ; 
and  even  now  I  often  find  myself  thinking  of  them. 
Those  three  poor  wretches,  dripping  with  perspiration, 
played  and  danced  about  for  upwards  of  an  hour  with 
an  unalterable  gravity,  listened  to  by  some  hundred 
or  more  persons  standing  in  a  close,  immovable  group, 
the  sun  shining  full  in  their  eyes,  and  giving  no  sign 
either  of  pleasure  or  annoyance. 


TANGIER.  67 

The  noisiest  gathering  of  all  was  that  surrounding 
the  soldiers — a  dozen  men,  old  and  young,  some 
wearing  white  caftans  and  others  clad  only  in  a  tunic, 
this  one  with  a  fez,  that  one  with  a  hood,  armed  with 
flint-lock  muskets  as  long  as  spears,  into  which  they 
poured  powder,  it  not  being  customary  to  employ  car- 
tridges in  Morocco.  An  old  veteran  directed  the  ex- 
ercises. First  they  placed  themselves  six  on  one  side 
and  six  on  the  other,  facing  one  another.  At  a  given 
signal  they  changed  places  on  a  run  and  knelt  with 
one  knee  on  the  ground;  then  one  of  them  sang 
something,  I  do  not  know  what,  in  a  shrill  falsetto,  all 
trills  and  quavers;  this  lasted  some  moments,  and 
was  listened  to  in  profound  silence ;  then  with  one 
accord  they  all  leaped  to  their  feet,  formed  a  circle, 
and  bounding  high  in  the  air  with  a  wild  shout  of  de- 
light reversed  their  guns  and  fired  into  the  ground. 
No  one  can  conceive  of  the  rapidity  and  fury,  the 
diabolic  charm  and  frantic  merriment  of  that  noisy, 
brilliant  performance,  seen  amidst  clouds  of  smoke, 
beneath  the  full  blaze  of  the  sun.  A  few  steps  from 
me  there  stood  among  the  spectators  a  little  Arab  girl 
of  ten  or  twelve,  not  yet  veiled,  with  one  of  the  pret- 
tiest faces  I  saw  in  Tangier.  She  had  a  clear,  deli- 
cate olive  complexion  and  big  blue  eyes,  stretched 
just  then  to  their  fullest  extent  with  wonder  at  beholding 
a  sight  far  more  marvellous  to  her  than  the  feats  of  the 
soldiers.  This  was  myself  in  the  act  of  drawing  off 
my  gloves — that  second  skin,  as  the  Arab  boys  say, 


68  TANGIER 

which  Christians  put  off  and  on  at  will  and  without 
hurting  themselves  in  the  least. 

I  hesitated  whether  or  no  to  witness  the  snake- 
charmers'  performance,  but  curiosity  finally  getting 
the  better  of  repugnance,  I  approached  the  group. 
These  so-called  snake-charmers  belong  to  the  order 
of  the  Aissowieh,  and  are  supposed  to  derive  from 
their  patron,  Ben-Aiissa,  power  to  receive  the  bite  of 
any  creature,  no  matter  how  venomous,  without  in- 
curring the  least  harm.  Many  travellers,  indeed, 
gifted  themselves  with  strong  faith,  declare  that  they 
have  actually  seen  these  persons  receive  bites  which 
drew  blood,  without  suffering  any  ill  effect,  from  ser- 
pents whose  deadly  nature  was  proved  shortly  after- 
wards by  experiments  made  upon  animals,  and  they 
add  that  they  have  been  unable  to  discover  by  what 
means  those  clever  charlatans  succeed  in  rendering 
the  bite  innocuous.  The  Aissowan  I  saw  presented 
a  spectacle  quite  horrible  enough,  though  bloodless. 
He  was  a  small  sturdy  Arab,  with  a  pale,  hangdog 
face,  hairy  as  a  Merovingian  king,  wearing  a  sort  of 
blue  tunic,  which  fell  to  the  ground.  As  I  approached 
he  was  skipping  grotesquely  around  a  goat-skin 
spread  on  the  earth,  from  beneath  which  peeped  the 
mouth  of  a  bag  in  which  the  snakes  were  confined. 
As  he  jumped  and  leaped  about  he  sang  a  melancholy 
song  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  flute,  apparently  an 
invocation  addressed  to  his  saint.  This  concluded,  he 
chattered  and  gesticulated  for  some  time  to  induce 


TANGIER.  69 

the  spectators  to  throw  him  money.  Then  kneeling 
in  front  of  the  goat-skin  he  thrust  his  hand  in  the 
bag  and  drew  forth  with  much  care  a  long,  greenish 
serpent,  very  lively  indeed,  which  he  carried  around 
for  the  audience  to  examine,  and  then  began  to  handle 
in  all  manner  of  ways,  much  as  though  it  had  been  a 
bit  of  rope.  He  grasped  it  around  the  neck,  held  it  up 
by  the  tail,  bound  it  about  his  temples,  hid  it  in  his 
breast,  twisted  it  in  and  out  of  the  holes  of  a  tambou- 
rine, threw  it  on  the  ground,  held  it  down  with  his 
foot,  pinioned  it  under  his  arm,  the  horrible  beast 
meanwhile  rearing  its  flat  head,  darting  out  its  tongue 
and  writhing  about  with  those  flexible,  repulsive,  ab- 
ject movements  that  seem  the  very  incarnation  of 
cowardice  and  treachery,  shooting  out  of  its  villainous 
little  eyes  all  the  rage  that  convulsed  its  body,  but 
never  making  any  attempt  to  bite  the  hand  that  held 
it.  When  he  was  tired  of  these  exercises  the  Aisso- 
wan,  taking  hold  of  the  snake  by  the  back  of  its  neck, 
thrust  a  small  piece  of  iron  in  its  mouth  to  hold  it 
open,  and  then  carried  it  around  for  the  nearer  spec- 
tators to  examine  its  teeth,  an  inspection  that  seemed 
to  me  superfluous,  seeing  that  no  one  had  been  bitten, 
if  indeed  the  poisoned  substance  had  not  been  already 
extracted.  After  this,  grasping  the  creature  firmly 
with  both  hands,  he  took  the  tail  in  his  mouth  and 
began  to  work  his  jaws  ;  the  beast  writhed  frantically, 
and  I  left  in  disgust.  Just  then  our  charge  d'affaires 
appeared  in  the  Sok.  The  Vice-Governor,  seeing  him 


70  TANGIER 

from  the  top  of  the  hill,  went  doAvn  to  meet  and  con- 
duct him  to  his  tent,  where  presently  all  the  members 
of  the  future  caravan,  myself  included,  were  assem- 
bled Before  long  the  musicians  and  soldiers  had 
collected  in  front  of  the  tent,  and  the  people  following, 
a  great  semi-circle  of  Arabs  was  formed,  the  men  in 
front,  the  gentler  sex  in  groups  in  the  rear,  and  forth- 
with there  broke  out  a  most  diabolical  uproar — danc- 
ing, shouting,  singing,  cries,  reports  of  fire-arms — 
which  was  kept  up  for  more  than  an  hour,  amid  dense 
clouds  of  smoke,  and  accompanied  by  unearthly  music 
and  the  shrill  cries  of  the  women  and  children,  to  the 
paternal  satisfaction  of  the  Vice-Governor  and  our  in- 
tense delight.  Before  it  ceased  the  charge  d'affaires 
slipped  a  small  yellow  object  into  the  hand  of  one  of 
the  Arab  soldiers  with  orders  to  give  it  to  the  director 
of  the  festivities.  The  man  presently  returned  and 
delivered  the  latter's  somewhat  singular  message 
of  thanks  translated  into  Spanish :  "  The  Italian 
ambassador  has  performed  a  good  action ;  may 
Allah  bless  every  hair  on  his  head."  The  fete 
kept  up  until  sunset — such  a  strange  fete  as  it 
was !  Three  water-carriers  sufficed  to  satisfy  the 
wants  of  all  that  throng  for  half  a  day  beneath  the 
burning  rays  of  an  African  sun.  A  muzuneh  was 
possibly  the  largest  coin  put  into  circulation  by 
that  great  concourse  of  people ;  the  only  pleasures 
indulged  in,  those  of  sight  and  sound ;  no  flirting ; 
not  a  single  drunken  person ;  no  one  stabbed !  really 


TANGIER  71 

nothing  at  all  in  common  with  the  fetes  of  civilized 
peoples. 

In  addition  to  visiting  the  various  sights,  I  and  my 
future  travelling  companions  used  to  take  long  walks 
in  the  country  surrounding  Tangier,  which  is  no  less 
curious  and  well  worth  seeing  than  the  city  itself. 
All  around  the  outside  of  the  walls  extends  a  belt  of 
pleasure  and  kitchen-gardens,  the  property,  for  the 
most  part,  of  the  foreign  ministers  and  consuls,  and 
almost  all  of  them  neglected,  yet  filled  with  a  marvel- 
lous vegetation.  There  are  long  rows  of  aloes,  looking 
like  huge  lances,  stuck  in  the  middle  of  a  bunch  of 
dirks  with  curved  points,  that  being  the  shape  of  the 
leaves.  The  Arabs  utilize  the  thorns  and  leaf-fibre 
to  sew  up  wounds.  There  are  Indian  figs,  too,  Ker- 
mus  del  Inde,  as  they  are  called  in  the  Moorish  tongue, 
very  tall,  with  leaves  a  finger  thick,  which  fall  in 
such  numbers  as  almost  to  block  up  the  paths  ;  com- 
mon figs,  in  whose  shadow  a  dozen  tents  might  be 
pitched ;  oaks,  acacias,  oleanders,  shrubs  of  all  kinds 
which  interlace  with  the  branches  of  the  taller  trees, 
and,  together  with  the  grass,  vines,  reeds  and  hedges, 
form  a  thick,  inextricable  undergrowth,  beneath  which 
paths  and  ditches  are  alike  hidden.  In  many  places 
it  is  necessary  to  feel  one's  way  along.  You  pass 
from  one  property  to  another,  across  broken-down 
hedges  and  over  fences  lying  prone  upon  the  ground, 
through  grass  and  flowers  reaching  waist-high,  and 
without  seeing  anyone  at  all.  A  few  little  white 


72  TANGIER 

houses  half-hidden  among  the  trees  and  an  occasional 
well  from  whence,  by  means  of  small  trenches,  the 
ground  is  irrigated,  are  the  only  objects  which  sug- 
gest the  idea  of  either  ownership  or  labor.  Often, 
had  I  not  been  accompanied  by  the  staff-captain,  an 
admirable  guide,  I  should  certainly  have  lost  my  way 
in  that  confused  mass  of  vegetation,  and  as  it  was  we 
were  obliged  to  keep  hailing  one  another,  like  people 
in  a  labyrinth,  in  order  not  to  become  separated.  We 
used  to  enjoy  plunging  into  that  sea  of  green,  swim- 
ming in  it,  and  forcing  our  way  with  hands  and  head 
and  feet,  like  two  savages  let  loose  in  their  native 
forests  after  languishing  in  prison.  Beyond  this  belt 
of  gardens  and  parks  there  are  no  more  houses,  trees, 
hedges,  or  any  division  of  the  land.  It  is  an  expanse 
of  green  hill  and  valley  and  undulating  plain,  where 
an  occasional  herd  of  cattle  may  be  seen  grazing 
with  no  keeper  in  sight,  and  a  few  loose  horses  gallop 
about.  On  one  single  occasion  I  recollect  seeing 
someone  engaged  in  cultivating  the  earth  ;  an  Arab 
was  driving  a  donkey  and  a  goat  hitched  to  a  tiny 
plough  of  curious  design,  probably  the  shape  of  those 
in  use  four  thousand  years  ago ;  he  was  making  a 
furrow  so  small  as  scarcely  to  be  visible,  in  a  field 
covered  with  stones  and  weeds.  I  was  assured  that 
it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  a  woman  and  a  donkey 
hitched  together  to  the  plough,  which  may  serve  to 
give  some  idea  of  the  agricultural  condition  of  Mo- 
rocco. The  only  fertilizer  put  on  the  ground  is  the 


oi  accompanied  by  i-hc  *t.-i  *-m,  an 

ide,  1  should  certainly  have,  lost  my  *r»y 
Bed  mass  of  vegetation,  and  as  it  was  we 
to  keep  hailing  one  another,  like  people 
b  in  <«>Vr  n«»i  to  become  separated.  We 
:  nluii  i  '•*••'•>''  that  POH  of  green,  swim- 
•  M.JV  uith  hands  and  head 


are  no  more  houses,  trees 


.  probably  th«  shape  of  those 

X  W  **  t 

yt^w  ago;  he  was  making  a 
,v    scarcely  to  be  visible,  in  a  field 
i.-nv*  and  weeds.     I  was  assured  that 
woman  and  a  donkey 
,  which  may 

:    Mo- 

Lighthouse,  Cape  Spartel  ground  • 


TANGIEB.  73 

ashes  of  the  stubble  burned  after  harvest,  and  the 
only  care  taken  to  avoid  exhausting  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  consists  in  letting  the  grass  grow  for  pasture 
every  third  year  after  planting  wheat  and  maize  in 
the  other  two.  Notwithstanding  this  precaution,  the 
ground  becomes  poor  after  a  few  crops  have  been 
grown,  and  then  these  wandering  farmers  move  on  in 
search  of  new  land  to  till,  which  in  its  turn  is  aban- 
doned for  the  first.  Thus  only  a  very  small  part  of  the 
arable  ground  is  under  cultivation  at  one  time ;  ground 
which,  even  with  such  treatment  yields  a  hundred- 
fold on  what  is  sown. 

The  most  beautiful  excursion  of  all  was  to  Cape 
Spartel,  the  Ampelusium  of  the  ancients,  which  forms 
the  northwest  extremity  of  the  African  continent — a 
mountain  of  gray-stone,  about  a  thousand  feet  high, 
running  out  into  the  sea  in  a  bold  promontory,  with 
great  caverns  at  its  base,  dedicated  in  ancient  times 
to  Hercules — specits  Herculi  sacer.  From  the  sum- 
mit rises  the  famous  light-house  built  only  a  few 
years  ago  and  maintained  by  contributions  from  most 
of  the  European  powers.  We  climbed  the  tower  up 
to  the  very  lantern  itself,  which  throws  its  brilliant 
warning  to  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles.  From 
thence  the  eye  roams  over  two  continents  and  two 
seas.  You  can  see  the  outermost  bounds  of  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  limitless  horizon  of  the  vast 
Atlantic — the  Sea  of  Darkness — Bahr-ed-Dholma, — 
as  the  Arabs  call  it — beating  against  the  foot  of  the 


74  TANGIER. 

rocks.  You  see  the  Spanish  coast  from  Cape  Tra- 
falgar to  Cape  Algesiras,  the  African  coast  from  the 
Mediterranean  to  the  Ceuta  Mountains,  the  septem 
fratres  of  the  Romans,  and  vague,  far  away,  the 
mighty  Rock  of  Gibraltar,  that  eternal  sentinel  sta- 
tioned at  the  portal  of  the  old  continents,  that  mys- 
terious boundary  of  the  ancient  world,  now  the  Fa- 
vola  vile  ai  navigante  industri. 

In  all  these  expeditions  we  met  but  a  very  few 
people,  usually  Arabs  on  foot,  who  passed  without 
looking  at  us,  or  sometimes  a  Moor  on  horseback, 
a  personage  of  some  importance,  either  by  reason  of 
his  wealth  or  office,  accompanied  by  a  troop  of  ser- 
vants, who  threw  us  a  disdainful  glance  in  passing. 
The  women  concealed  their  faces  more  jealously  than 
in  town ;  some  of  them  muttering  and  others  turning 
their  backs  on  us  brusquely.  Sometimes,  however, 
an  Arab  would  stop  directly  in  our  way,  and,  look- 
ing us  straight  in  the  eye,  murmur  a  few  words 
almost  in  the  tone  of  one  who  asks  a  favor,  and  then 
move  off  without  looking  back.  As  a  rule,  we  could 
not  understand  what  was  said,  but  it  was  explained 
to  us  later  that  they  were  begging  us  to  pray  that 
Allah  would  grant  their  petitions.  It  seems  that 
there  is  a  common  superstition  among  the  Arabs 
that  the  prayers  of  Mussulmans  are  so  agreeable 
to  God  that  He  usually  delays  answering  them 
in  order  to  prolong  the  pleasure,  while  the  prayer 
of  an  infidel,  a  dog — that  is,  a  Christian  or  a  Jew — 


TANGIER  75 

is,  on  the  contrary,  so  obnoxious  that,  in  order  to  get 
rid  of  it,  He  grants  it  ipso  facto.  The  only  friendly 
countenances  we  ever  met  were  those  of  the  Jewish 
boys,  who  circled  around  in  troops,  riding  their  don- 
keys up  and  down  the  hills,  and  shouting  out  gayly 
to  us  as  they  galloped  by,  Buenos  dias^  caballeros ! 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  varied  and  novel 
life  we  were  leading  in  Tangier,  we  were  all  impa- 
tient to  be  off  in  order  to  get  back  in  the  month  of 
June,  before  the  great  heat  sets  in.  The  charge 
d'affaires  had  dispatched  a  courier  to  Fez  to  an- 
nounce that  the  embassy  was  ready  to  start,  but  at 
least  ten  days  must  elapse  before  his  return  could 
be  hoped  for.  Private  information  came  that  the 
escort  was  already  on  its  way ;  others  said  that  it 
had  not  yet  started;  everything  was  as  uncertain 
and  contradictory  as  if  this  much-talked-of  Fez  lay 
two  thousand  miles  from  the  coast,  instead  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty  kilometres.  We  rather  liked 
this,  though,  as  it  made  our  fifteen-days'  trip  assume 
the  importance  of  a  long  journey,  and  threw  around 
Fez  the  vague  fascination  of  a  strange,  mysterious 
place.  This  impression  was,  in  fact,  much  strength- 
ened by  the  extraordinary  tales  that  were  told  us  of 
the  city  and  its  inhabitants,  and  of  the  perils  of  the 
journey  by  those  who  had  accompanied  other  embas- 
sies. We  were  informed  that  they  had  been  sur- 
rounded by  thousands  of  horsemen,  who  greeted 
them  with  a  furious,  close  fire  at  the  risk  of  blind- 


76  TANGIER. 

ing  them  ;  that  balls  had  whistled  by  their  ears  ;  that 
it  was  more  than  likely  that  some  of  us  Italians  would 
get  an  ounce  or  two  of  lead  in  our  bodies  that  had 
been  intended  for  the  white  cross  on  our  flag — an 
object  which  the  Arabs  would  be  sure  to  regard  as 
a  direct  insult  to  Mohammed.  They  talked  to  us 
about  scorpions,  snakes,  tarantulas,  clouds  of  grass- 
hoppers, spiders,  huge  toads,  all  of  which  we  would 
encounter  on  the  road  and  in  our  own  tents.  They 
painted  the  entrance  of  the  embassy  into  Fez  in 
gloomy  colors,  alluding  to  whirlwinds  of  horsemen, 
dense  hostile  crowds  of  people,  and  dark,  covered 
streets  encumbered  with  the  carcasses  of  dead  ani- 
mals. They  prophesied  all  manner  of  misfortunes 
during  our  sojourn  in  the  metropolis — mortal  inertia, 
violent  dysentery,  rheumatism,  ferocious  mosquitoes, 
as  compared  with  which  our  own  are  positive  bless- 
ings ;  and,  last  of  all,  they  spoke  of  homesickness, 
under  which  head  they  recounted  the  mournful  history 
of  a  young  artist  from  Brussels  who  had  accompanied 
the  Belgian  embassy,  and  at  the  end  of  a  week  was 
seized  with  such  desperate  melancholy  that  the  minis- 
ter was  obliged  to  send  him  back  post-haste  to  Tangier, 
in  order  to  avoid  having  him  die  on  his  hands ;  and  this 
was  actually  so.  All  of  these  direful  accounts,  how- 
ever, only  served  to  whet  our  impatience.  I  recalled 
with  amusement,  too,  an  ironical  sally  of  my  mother. 
After  having  vainly  attempted  to  persuade  me  to 
renounce  the  trip  to  Morocco  on  account  of  the  wild 


TANGIER.  77 

beasts,  "  Oh,  well,"  said  she,  "  no  doubt  you  are 
right,  after  all.  What  does  it  matter  if  a  panther 
does  devour  you  ?  The  newspapers  will,  no  doubt, 
publish  a  full  account  of  it !"  After  all  this,  it  is  easy 
to  imagine  how  we  bounded  from  our  chairs  when,  one 
day,  Signer  Salomone  Aflalo,  second  legation  drago- 
man, appeared  at  the  dining-room  door  and  pro- 
nounced in  sonorous  tones  the  words,  "  The  escort 
has  arrived  from  Fez !"  With  the  escort  had  also 
come  the  horses,  mules,  camels,  grooms,  tents,  the 
itinerary  fixed  by  the  Sultan,  and  the  permission  to 
start.  It  was  necessary,  however,  to  wait  still  a  few 
days  longer  in  order  that  the  men  and  beasts  might 
have  a  chance  to  rest.  The  latter  were  taken  up  to 
the  kasbah,  whither  I  went  the  following  day  to  see 
them.  There  were  forty-five  horses,  including  those 
of  the  escort,  twenty  saddle-mules,  and  more  than 
fifty  pack-mules,  to  which  a  good  many  others,  hired 
in  Tangier,  were  added  later  on.  The  horses,  like 
all  others  in  Morocco,  were  small  and  slightly  built, 
the  mules  sturdy.  Both  saddles  and  packs  were  cov- 
ered with  red  cloth,  and  the  stirrups  made  of  a  wide 
piece  of  iron,  turned  up  on  both  sides  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  support  and  inclose  the  entire  foot,  serving  at 
once  as  a  spur  and  a  weapon  of  defence.  The  poor 
creatures  were  almost  all  of  them  lying  on  the  ground, 
exhausted  more  by  the  insufficiency  of  food  than  the 
length  of  the  journey,  a  portion  of  what  should  have 
gone  to  them  having  very  probably  been  converted 


78  TANGIER 

into  money  for  their  own  pockets  by  their  care- 
takers. A  few  of  the  soldiers  belonging  to  the  escort 
were  present.  They  at  once  drew  near  and  began 
to  talk,  trying  to  make  us  understand,  by  means  of 
gestures,  that  the  journey  had  been  fatiguing,  that 
they  had  suffered  much  from  heat  and  thirst,  but 
that,  by  the  grace  of  Allah,  they  had  arrived  safe  and 
sound.  There  were  negroes  and  mulattoes  among 
them,  all  enveloped  alike  in  long  white  capes  ;  tall,  an- 
gular men,  with  hard  faces,  cruel-looking  teeth,  and 
fierce  eyes,  whose  expression  made  us  feel  that  a 
second  escort  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  interpose 
between  them  and  us  in  the  event  of  anything  hap- 
pening. While  my  companions  were  gesticulating  I 
occupied  myself  in  searching  quietly  about  among  the 
mules  for  the  one  which  should  have  the  mildest,  most 
tractable  and  kindly  expression  in  its  eyes.  It  proved 
to  be  a  white  one  with  an  arabesqued  saddle,  and  to 
its  tender  mercies  I  determined  to  intrust  my  life. 
From  henceforth  until  our  return  all  the  hopes  of  Italian 
literature  in  Morocco  were  pinned  to  that  saddle.  We 
next  proceeded  to  the  Sok  di  Barra,  where  the  princi- 
pal tents  had  been  pitched.  It  gave  us  the  greatest 
delight  to  gaze  upon  those  small  canvas  dwellings, 
beneath  which  we  were  to  sleep  for  thirty  nights 
amid  unknown  solitudes,  to  hear  and  see  so  many 
wonderful  things,  and  to  labor,  one  on  a  geographi- 
cal chart,  another  on  an  official  report,  another  on  a 
picture,  another  on  a  book,  forming  among  us  a  little 


TANGIEB.  79 

moving  Italy  travelling  across  the  empire  of  the 
sherifs.  They  were  circular-pointed  tents,  some  of 
them  large  enough  to  accommodate  more  than  twenty 
persons ;  all  lofty,  and  made  of  double  canvas,  with 
sky-blue  stripes,  and  ornamented  on  top  with  big 
metal  balls.  Most  of  them  were  the  property  of  the 
Sultan,  and  who  knows  how  many  seraglio  belles  may 
have  slept  beneath  them  in  the  course  of  their  famous 
journeys  from  Fez  to  Mequinez  and  from  Mequinez 
to  Morocco  !  In  a  corner  of  the  camp  stood  a  num- 
ber of  the  escort  soldiers,  and  in  front  of  them,  on 
foot,  a  strange  personage  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
minister.  He  was  a  man  of  about  thirty -five,  a  stout 
mulatto  of  stately  appearance,  wearing  a  large  white 
turban,  a  light-blue  cloak,  red  trousers,  and  a  sabre 
in  a  leather  case  with  a  rhinoceros-skin  handle. 
Presently  the  minister  arrived  and  presented  him  to 
us.  It  was  the  commander  of  the  escort,  a  general 
in  the  Imperial  army,  named  Hamed  Ben  Kasen 
Buhamei,  who  had  been  detailed  to  accompany  us  to 
Fez  and  back  again  to  Tangier,  and  to  answer  with 
his  own  head  for  the  safety  of  ours.  He  shook  our 
hands  with  much  affability,  and  expressed,  through 
the  interpreter,  his  hope  that  we  would  have  a  pleas- 
ant trip.  His  face  and  manner  reassured  me  com- 
pletely with  regard  to  the  teeth  and  eyes  of  the  sol- 
diers whom  we  had  seen  in  the  kasbah.  He  was  not 
handsome,  but  his  countenance  gave  evidence  of  a 
kindly  disposition  as  well  as  a  quick,  active  mind. 


80  TANGIER 

He  must  have  been  able  to  read,  write,  and  cast  up 
accounts  ;  have  been,  in  short,  one  of  the  most  highly- 
educated  generals  in  the  army,  for  the  Minister  of  War 
to  have  assigned  to  him  so  important  and  delicate  a 
mission.  The  distribution  of  the  tents  was  made  in 
his  presence.  One  was  assigned  to  Art  j  the  next 
largest  after  that  of  the  ambassador  was  taken  pos- 
session of  by  the  naval  commander,  the  staff-captain, 
the  vice-consul  and  myself,  and  from  that  moment 
it  was  foreseen  that  that  would  be  the  noisiest  tent  in 
camp.  Another  very  large  one  was  selected  to  serve 
as  the  dining-room  j  then  others  were  chosen  for  the 
doctor,  interpreters,  cooks,  servants,  and  legation  sol- 
diers, the  commander  of  the  escort  and  his  men  having 
separate  tents ;  others  still  were  to  be  added  on  the 
day  of  departure.  In  short,  it  was  easy  to  see  that 
we  were  to  have  a  very  beautiful  encampment,  and 
I  could  already  feel  an  ardent  desire  beginning  to 
stir  within  me  to  plunge  into  descriptive  narrative. 

The  following  day  our  charge  d'affaires,  accompanied 
by  the  commander  and  the  captain,  went  to  call  upon 
the  representative  of  the  Imperial  Government,  Sidi- 
Bargas,  who  exercises  to  a  certain  extent  the  func- 
tions of  a  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  Tangier.  I 
joined  them,  being  curious  to  see  a  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs  who  (unless  his  salary  has  been  raised  in 
the  last  twenty  years,  a  most  unlikely  thing)  receives 
seventy-five  francs  a  month  from  his  Government,  in- 
cluding all  sums  designed  to  defray  any  official  ex- 


TANGIEK.  81 

penses  he  may  incur — a  sumptuous  amount,  however, 
as  compared  with  the  Governor's  salary,  which  is  only 
fifty  francs ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this 
office  is  a  sine  cura,  whose  duties  can  be  put  off  on 
the  first  person  who  comes  along.  The  famous  Sid- 
tan,  Abd-Er-Rahman,  for  instance,  who  reigned  from 
1822  to  1859,  could  find  no  one  fitted  for  the  position 
but  a  certain  Sidi-Mohammed-el-Khetib,  a  sugar-  and 
coffee-merchant,  who,  while  he  exercised  the  duties 
of  a  minister,  continued  to  trade  regularly  at  Tangier 
and  Gibraltar.  Indeed,  the  instructions  issued  to  this 
minister  by  his  Government,  while  exceedingly  sim- 
ple, might  well  embarrass  the  most  finished  diplomat 
of  Europe.  A  French  consul  has  formulated  them 
with  great  accuracy  as  follows :  "  Reply  to  every  de- 
mand made  by  the  consuls  with  promises ;  postpone 
the  fulfilment  of  these  promises  to  the  very  last  possi- 
ble moment ;  gain  time  ;  throw  every  sort  of  difficulty 
in  the  way  of  the  complainants  ;  act  so  that,  weary  of 
making  demands,  they  will  desist.  If,  however,  they 
begin  to  threaten,  yield,  but  just  as  little  as  possible ; 
if  they  then  begin  to  load  their  guns,  yield  entirely, 
but  not  until  the  supreme  moment  arrives."  It  should 
be  added,  however,  that  since  the  war  with  Spain, 
and  particularly  during  the  reign  of  Mulai-el-Hassan, 
things  have  changed  greatly. 

We  ascended  to  the  kasbah,  where  the  ministerial 
residence  is  situated.     Two  lines  of  soldiers  formed 

wings  on  either  side  of  the  entrance.     Crossing  a 
VOL.  L— 6 


82  TANGIER. 

garden,  we  entered  a  spacious  apartment,  where  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  the  Governor  of  Tan- 
gier advanced  to  meet  the  charge  d'affaires.  At  the 
back  of  the  room  was  an  alcove  containing  some 
chairs  and  a  sofa ;  in  one  corner  stood  a  very  unpre- 
tending bed,  under  the  bed  a  coffee  service ;  the 
walls  were  white  and  bare,  and  the  floor  covered  with 
mats.  We  took  our  seats  in  the  alcove,  and  regarded 
the  two  personages  confronting  us,  who  offered  an  ad- 
mirable contrast  to  one  another.  One,  Sidi-Bargas, 
the  minister,  was  a  handsome  old  man,  with  a  white 
beard,  fresh,  clear  complexion,  a  pair  of  indescrib- 
ably vivacious  eyes,  and  a  wide,  smiling  mouth,  lined 
with  two  rows  of  big  teeth  as  white  as  ivory ;  a 
countenance  that  gave  indications  at  the  first  glance 
of  that  astuteness,  that  marvellously  pliable  nature, 
which  is  an  absolute  requisite  of  the  office  he  held. 
The  eye-glasses  and  snuff-box,  and  certain  ceremoni- 
ous movements  of  the  head  and  hands  lent  him  almost 
the  air  of  a  European  diplomat.  We  had  before  us 
a  man  accustomed  to  associate  with  Christians — supe- 
rior, perhaps,  to  many  of  the  superstitions  and  pre- 
judices of  his  countrymen — a  liberal-minded  Mussul- 
man, a  Moor  wearing  a  varnish  of  civilization,  The 
other,  Kaid  Misfiui  appeared  to  be  the  very  personifica- 
tion of  Morocco.  He  was  a  man  of  about  fifty,  dark, 
black-bearded,  muscular,  gloomy,  taciturn,  who  sat 
with  unsmiling  face,  bent  head,  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
ground,  and  lowering  brow,  as  though  we  inspired 


TANGIER.  83 

him  with  the  deepest  repugnance.  I  observed  him 
out  of  the  corner  of  one  eye  with  considerable  dis- 
trust. He  looked  to  me  like  a  man  who  might  only 
open  his  lips  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  someone's 
head  rolling  about  his  feet.  They  both  wore  large 
white  turbans,  and  were  wrapped  from  head  to  foot 
in  diaphanous  caiks. 

The  charge  d'affaires  presented  the  commander  and 
the  captain  by  means  of  the  interpreter.  Both  being 
officers,  the  introduction  called  for  no  especial  com- 
ment ;  but  when  my  turn  came,  some  sort  of  explana- 
tion as  to  my  calling  was  necessary,  which  the  minis- 
ter gave  in  exaggerated  terms.  Sidi-Bargas  remained 
silent  for  some  moments,  and  then  addressed  a  few 
words  to  the  interpreter,  who  translated  them  as  fol- 
lows :  "  His  Excellency  wishes  to  know  why,  since 
your  lordship's  hand  is  so  gifted,  it  should  be  kept 
covered;  your  lordship  should  remove  the  glove  so 
that  the  hand  could  be  seen."  This  form  of  compli- 
ment was  so  novel  that  I  was  at  a  loss  how  to  reply. 
"It  is  useless,"  observed  the  charge  d'affaires;  "the 
talent  lies  in  the  head,  not  in  the  hand."  It  would  have 
seemed  as  though  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  said, 
but  when  a  Moor  once  gets  hold  of  a  metaphor  he 
does  not  let  it  go  so  easily.  "  That  is  quite  true,"  re- 
plied His  Excellency,  "  but  the  hand  is  the  tool,  and 
also  the  symbol  of  the  gift  of  the  mind."  And  so  the 
discussion  was  carried  on  for  some  moments  longer. 
"It  is  the  gift  of  Allah,"  concluded  Sidi-Bargas  at 


84  TANGIER 

last.  "Miserly  Allah,"  said  I  to  myself.  The  con- 
versation now  turned  upon  the  coming  journey. 
There  were  long  lists  of  names  of  governors,  provinces, 
rivers,  valleys.,  mountains  and  plains  which  we  were 
to  meet  with  on  our  route,  names  which  resounded 
in  my  ears  like  so  many  promises  of  wonderful  things 
to  come,  and  set  my  imagination  on  fire.  What  could 
the  Red  Mountain  be  ?  What  would  we  see  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  of  Pearls  ?  What  sort  of  governor 
must  he  be  who  bore  the  name  of  "  Son  of  the  Mare  ?" 
Our  charge  asked  a  great  many  questions  regarding 
the  distances,  water  and  shade,  all  of  which  informa- 
tion Sidi-Bargas  had  at  his  finger-ends,  and  it  must 
be  admitted  that  in  this  respect  at  least  he  is  superior 
to  Viscount  Venosta,  who  would  certainly  not  be  able 
to  tell  a  foreign  ambassador  the  number  of  springs 
and  groups  of  trees  to  be  found  on  the  road  from 
Naples  to  Rome.  Finally,  he  wished  us  a  safe  jour- 
ney, with  the  formula,  "  Peace  be  upon  your  road," 
and  accompanied  the  charge  to  the  door,  shaking  us 
all  by  the  hand,  with  every  appearance  of  cordial 
good-will.  Kaid  Misfiui,  still  perfectly  silent,  ex- 
tended the  tips  of  his  fingers  without  looking  up. 
"  Oh,  it  is  my  hand,  is  it,  and  not  my  head  I"  said  I 
to  myself,  as  I  stretched  out  my  own.  We  had  gotten 
out  of  the  room  when  the  minister  overtook  us. 
"  What  day  do  you  start !"  he  inquired  of  Comm. 
Scovasso.  "Sunday,"  was  the  reply.  "Make  it 
Monday,"  said  Sidi-Bargas  earnestly.  The  charge 


TANGIER  85 

asked  why.  "  Because,"  said  he,  with  perfect  gravity, 
"  it  is  a  lucky  day,"  and  bowing  to  us  once  more  he 
disappeared.  I  was  told  afterwards  that  Sidi-Misfiui 
has  the  reputation  among  the  Moors  of  being  a  great 
scholar.  He  was  tutor  to  the  reigning  Sultan,  and  is, 
as  anyone  can  see  by  looking  at  his  face,  a  fanatical 
Mussulman.  Sidi-Bargas  enjoys  the  more  amiable 
distinction  of  being  a  great  chess-player. 

Three  days  prior  to  the  date  of  our  departure  the 
street  leading  to  the  legation  was  already  blocked  with 
crowds  of  curious  people.  Ten  large  camels,  who 
were  to  carry  a  part  of  the  provision  of  wine  on  be- 
fore us  to  Fez,  came  one  after  another,  and  kneeling 
before  the  door,  received  their  load  and  started  off  at 
last,  accompanied  by  a  small  body  of  soldiers  and  ser- 
vants. In-doors  the  bustle  and  confusion  during 
those  three  days  redoubled.  To  the  servants  and 
soldiers  already  attached  to  the  legation  were  added 
those  sent  from  Fez.  Stores  kept  arriving  at  all 
hours ;  the  place  was  like  a  workshop,  a  storehouse, 
or  the  hold  of  a  ship.  For  a  little  while  it  looked  as 
though  the  preparations  would  not  be  completed  in 
time,  but  by  Sunday  evening,  the  third  of  May,  every- 
thing was  in  readiness,  including  the  lofty  staff  of  an 
enormous  tri-colored  flag,  destined  to  float  in  the 
midst  of  the  tents.  All  the  personal  baggage  was  to 
be  loaded  on  the  mules  during  the  night  and  dis- 
patched early  in  the  morning,  many  hours  in  advance 
of  the  rest  of  the  party,  so  that  on  reaching  the  ap- 


86  TANGIEE. 

pointed  spot  at  night  we  might  find  everything  pre- 
pared. 

I  shall  always  remember,  with  sensations  of  keen 
delight,  those  last  moments  which  we  spent  in  the 
court-yard  of  the  legation  just  before  setting  out. 
We  were  all  there,  only  the  day  before  our  party  had 
been  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  an  old  friend  of 
the  charge  d'affaires — Signor  Patxot,  formerly  Span- 
ish Minister  at  Tangier,  and  Signor  Morteo,  a  Gen- 
oese, the  Italian  consular  agent  at  Mazagan.  There 
was  the  doctor  of  the  Caravan,  Miguerez,  a  native  of 
Algeria;  a  wealthy  Moor  named  Mohammed-Ducali, 
an  Italian  subject,  who  accompanied  the  expedition  in 
the  character  of  accountant;  the  second  legation 
dragoman,  Salomone  Aflalo ;  two  Italian  seamen,  one 
of  them  Comm.  Cassone's  orderly,  and  the  other  a 
caulker  on  board  the  Dora;  the  legation  soldiers  in 
full  gala  costume ;  the  cooks,  workmen  and  servants, 
a  crowd  of  unknown  individuals,  with  whom  two  or 
three  months'  intercourse,  in  the  interior  of  Morocco, 
would  assuredly  render  me  very  familiar,  and  with 
whom  I  determined  to  scrape  acquaintance  one  by 
one,  beginning  immediately,  in  order  to  make  them 
talk  and  act  in  the  book  which  was  already  taking 
shape  in  my  head.  Each  one  had  some  peculiarity 
of  dress  which  contributed  towards  lending  the  en- 
tire assemblage  a  marvellously  picturesque  appear- 
ance. There  were  plumed  hats,  white  cloaks,  flow- 
ing mantles,  veils,  saddle-bags,  field-blankets  of 


'affaires— »Si^vi»r  F.uxot,  formerly  Spaa- 

st   Taiuriiir,  and  JSi^piuv  Murt«jo,  a  Gen- 

|JK»  »xn<Jiiir  agent  at  Mazagan.     There 

5  :    '.  •o.»-ftit.  Mi^uorv/.  a  native  of 


would   MKtrfmtty  5Vi.:(4«f    i 

Mii-m  I  d€-t»Tn»ui«i  *P  *•-   • 
. •• .-.-.  b«  ir:;;nu.;T  nnu-'.-aiM^iy,  in  order  to  make 
talk  a»4  act  in  the  book  which  was  already  taking 
shape   n;   cav  head.     Each  one  had  *^ 
of  dr.f*ft  vh;vh  contributed  towards  lr- 
tire  aawinnta^*  a  marvellously  p^  ie  appear- 

anc".     Tii'  r*-  nert  plumed  liats,  v.  tks,  iflow- 

m&:    Sbk  di  Barra,   lan^fdteld-blanket*  of 


TANGIER  87 

strange  colors ;  and  what  with  the  field-glasses,  pis- 
tols, barometers,  sketch-books  and  portfolios,  we  had 
enough  material  to  fit  out  a  bazaar.  It  looked  as 
though  we  were  about  setting  out  for  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  Every  one  was  in  a  tremor  of  excite- 
ment, curiosity  and  delight  $  and,  to  crown  all,  the 
weather  was  superb,  with  a  delicious  sea-breeze  blow- 
ing. Evidently  Mohammed  was  with  Italy !  At  pre- 
cisely five  o'clock  the  minister  mounted  his  horse, 
and  at  the  same  moment  every  legation  ran  up  its 
flag  by  way  of  salutation.  Preoccupied  as  I  was  by 
the  beast  I  bestrode,  and  in  the  uproar  of  departure, 
I  preserved  only  a  confused  impression  of  crowds  of 
people  blocking  up  the  streets,  handsome  Jewesses 
standing  on  the  balconies,  and  an  Arab  boy  who,  as 
we  issued  from  the  Sok  gate,  shouted  with  a  foreign 
accent,  "Italia!" 

At  the  Sok  we  were  joined  by  representatives  of 
all  the  other  legations,  who,  according  to  custom, 
were  to  accompany  us  some  miles  out  of  Tangier. 
Taking  the  Fez  road,  we  fell  into  a  long,  noisy,  con- 
fused cavalcade,  before  which  floated  the  green  flag 
of  the  Prophet. 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA. 


IT  was  a  crowd  composed  of  ministers,  consuls, 
dragomans,  secretaries,  and  clerks — a  great  inter- 
national embassy  representing  six  monarchies  and 
two  republics,  and  consisting,  for  the  most  part,  of 
persons  who  had  travelled  over  half  the  world. 
Among  others  there  was  the  Spanish  consul,  attired 
in  the  charming  costume  of  the  province  of  Murcia, 
with  a  dagger  thrust  in  his  belt ;  the  gigantic  form 
of  the  United  States  consul,  a  former  cavalry  colonel, 
who  stood  a  head  and  shoulders  above  the  rest  of  the 
company  and  rode  a  fine  Arabian  charger,  harnessed 
in  the  Mexican  fashion  ;  the  dragoman  of  the  French 
legation,  a  man  of  athletic  build,  mounted  on  an  enor- 
mous white  horse,  who  in  certain  positions  seemed 
to  take  on  the  heavy,  fantastic  outlines  of  a  centaur ; 
English  faces,  Portuguese,  Andalusian,  German. 
Everyone  was  talking,  the  conversation  being  car- 
ried on  in  ten  different  languages,  and  accompanied 
by  bursts  of  laughter,  the  humming  of  tunes,  and 
neighing  of  horses.  In  front  rode  the  standard- 
bearer,  followed  by  two  soldiers  of  the  Italian  lega- 
tion ;  behind  came  the  cavalry  escort,  headed  by  the 

(91) 


92  HADD-EL-GHAEBIA. 

mulatto  general,  carrying  their  guns  erect  on  their 
saddles ;  on  either  side  were  a  throng  of  Arab  ser- 
vants on  foot.  This  great  company,  gilded  by  the 
last  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  presented  an  aspect  so 
gloriously  picturesque  that  every  one  of  us  showed 
plainly  in  his  face  the  satisfaction  he  felt  at  making 
at  least  one  figure  in  the  tableau.  One  by  one  almost 
all  of  those  who  had  started  with  us  had  said  fare- 
well and  turned  back  towards  Tangier;  only  Spain 
and  the  United  States  were  left.  Thus  far  the  road 
had  not  been  very  bad,  and  my  mule  being  appar- 
ently the  most  docile  beast  in  the  empire  there 
seemed  to  be  nothing  left  to  desire.  But  absolute 
happiness  does  not  exist  in  this  world,  and  accord- 
ingly the  captain  presently  joined  me  with  an  un- 
welcome piece  of  news.  The  vice-consul,  Paolo 
Grande,  who  was  to  share  our  tent,  was,  it  appeared, 
a  somnambulist.  The  captain  had  encountered  him 
himself  only  the  preceding  night  on  the  stairs  of  the 
legation,  wrapped  in  a  sheet,  and  carrying  a  light  in 
one  hand  and  a  pistol  in  the  other.  On  being  ques- 
tioned, the  servants  had  confirmed  what  he  had  seen. 
To  sleep  in  the  same  tent  with  him  might  be  dan- 
gerous, and  the  captain  begged  me,  as  being  rather 
more  intimate  with  him  than  the  others,  to  try  to 
induce  him  to  place  his  fire-arms  in  some  one  else's 
care  at  night.  I  promised  to  do  my  best.  "  I  trust 
to  you,  then,"  said  he,  moving  off,  "and  the  com- 
mander does,  as  well.  It  seems  to  be  a  question  of 


HADD-EL-GHABBIA.  93 

preserving  our  skins."  "  This  is  unnecessary," 
thought  I,  and  starting  off  in  search  of  the  vice- 
consul,  I  presently  came  across  him  looking  for  me. 
By  dint  of  much  questioning  I  succeeded  in  finding 
out  that  between  fire-arms  and  cold  steel  he  had 
with  him  a  whole  small  arsenal,  including  a  great 
Moorish  dagger.  This  last  he  described  to  me  at 
length,  and  I  somehow  got  an  impression  that  it  had 
been  manufactured  and  put  on  the  market  for  the 
sole  end  and  object  of  ripping  open  my  heart.  But 
how  on  earth  was  I  to  make  him  understand  the 
situation,  especially  if  he  were  entirely  unconscious 
of  it  himself!  I  finally  decided  to  wait  until  night, 
when  we  should  all  be  getting  ready  for  bed ;  but 
during  the  rest  of  the  ride  I  could  not  rid  myself  of 
the  disturbing  thought. 

We  were  travelling  through  a  gently-rolling  coun- 
try, amid  green,  deserted  fields.  The  road,  if  indeed 
it  could  be  called  a  road,  was  cut  up  into  a  number 
of  parallel  paths,  sunk  like  the  beds  of  streams,  which 
wound  in  and  out  among  stones  and  bushes,  some- 
times crossing  and  interlacing  with  one  another. 
Palms  and  aloes  were  occasionally  outlined  darkly 
against  the  golden  horizon ;  the  sky  began  to  glitter 
with  stars ;  no  one  was  to  be  seen  far  or  near.  At 
one  place  the  report  of  muskets  was  heard  coming 
from  a  group  of  Arabs,  who,  stationed  on  a  neighbor- 
ing hill-top,  were  saluting  the  embassy  as  it  passed. 
We  had  been  riding  now  for  three  hours  ;  it  had  be- 


94  HADD-EL-GHARBIA. 

come  quite  dark,  and  everyone  began  to  wish  for  the 
camp.  Owing  to  hunger  in  some  cases  and  to  fatigue 
in  others,  conversation  had  gradually  died  out.  Noth- 
ing could  be  heard  but  the  tramp  of  the  horses'  hoofs 
and  the  loud  breathing  of  the  servants  as  they  ran 
behind  us.  All  at  once  a  cry  was  heard  from  the 
Kaid,  and  turning,  we  descried  an  eminence  on  our 
right  all  sparkling  with  lights.  It  was  our  first  en- 
campment, and  we  hailed  it  with  shouts.  I  cannot 
express  the  delight  I  experienced  on  setting  foot  for 
the  first  time  among  those  tents.  Had  it  not  been 
that  I  realized  the  duty  that  devolved  upon  me  of  up- 
holding the  dignity  of  Italian  literature  I  should  cer- 
tainly have  begun  cutting  capers.  It  was  a  little  city 
— light,  populous,  noisy.  On  all  sides  arose  the  smoke 
of  the  kitchens ;  servants,  soldiers,  cooks,  sailors 
came  and  went,  interchanging  questions  and  orders 
in  all  the  tongues  of  the  Tower  of  Babel.  The  tents 
were  pitched  in  a  large  circle,  in  the  midst  of  which 
was  planted  the  flag  of  Italy.  Outside  this  circle 
rows  of  horses  and  mules  were  tethered.  The  escort 
had  its  own  small  camp  apart.  Everything  was  ar- 
ranged in  military  fashion.  I  recognized  my  own 
abode  at  once,  and  hastened  to  take  possession. 
There  were  four  camp-beds,  mats,  rugs,  lanterns, 
candles,  small  tables,  camp  stools,  wash-stands  with 
legs  striped  in  the  Italian  tri-color,  and  an  enormous 
Indian  fan — a  princely  establishment,  in  which  one 
might  willingly  live  a  year.  Our  tent  stood  between 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  95 

the  minister's  on  the  one  hand  and  the  artist's  on  the 
other.  An  hour  after  our  arrival  we  seated  ourselves 
at  table  in  the  large  tent  dedicated  to  Lucullus.  I 
think  that  must  have  been  the  gayest  dinner  ever 
eaten  within  the  confines  of  Morocco  from  the  time 
Fez  was  founded.  We  were  sixteen,  including  the 
American  consul,  his  two  sons,  and  the  Spanish 
consul,  with  his  two  attaches.  The  Italian  cuisine 
achieved  a  signal  triumph.  It  was,  I  believe,  the 
very  first  occasion  on  which,  in  the  midst  of  that 
lonely  country,  there  arose  to  Allah  the  odor  of  maca- 
roni au  joux  and  risotto  a  la  Milanese.  The  author 
of  these  masterpieces,  a  fat  French  cook,  who  had 
come  out  from  Tangier  for  that  night  only,  was 
clamorously  summoned  to  receive  the  honors  of  the 
proscenium.  Toasts  exploded  like  rockets — in  Italian, 
in  Spanish,  in  prose,  in  poetry,  and  set  to  music. 
The  Spanish  consul,  a  handsome  Castilian  of  the  old- 
fashioned  type, — big  beard,  big  chest  and  big  heart, 
— declaimed,  with  one  hand  resting  on  the  handle  of 
his  dagger,  the  dialogue  between  Don  Juan  Tenorio 
and  Don  Luis  Mendia  in  the  celebrated  drama  of 
Jose  Zorilla.  The  Eastern  question  was  discussed, 
the  eyes  of  the  Arab  women,  the  Carlist  war,  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  the  attributes  of  the  terrible 
cobra  capetto,  Cleopatra's  asp,  which  Morocco  conjurers 
allow  to  bite  them  freely.  Someone  whispered  in  my 
ear  that  he  would  be  eternally  grateful  if  I  would 
casually  mention  in  my  forthcoming  book  that  he  had 


96  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

cut  a  lion  in  two,  whereupon  I  seized  the  opportunity 
to  beg  that  each  one  of  the  company  would  furnish 
me  with  a  complete  list  of  the  wild  animals  he  wished 
to  figure  as  having  slaughtered,  and  the  Spanish  con- 
sul, by  way  of  grateful  acknowledgment,  composed 
then  and  there  a  Castilian  stanza  in  honor  of  my  mule, 
singing  which  in  chorus,  to  the  tune  of  Italiana  in  Al- 
gerij  we  trooped  out  of  the  tent  to  go  to  bed.  The 
camp  was  buried  in  profound  silence.  Before  the 
tent  of  the  minister,  who  had  retired  earlier,  watched 
the  faithful  Selam,  head  of  the  legation  soldiers, 
while  in  the  distance  a  white,  spectre-like  figure — the 
Raid  of  the  escort — could  be  seen  slowly  pacing  back 
and  forth.  The  sky  was  glittering  with  stars ;  how 
perfect  it  all  would  have  been  except  for  that  som- 
nambulistic thorn !  As  we  entered  the  tent  the  cap- 
tain repeated  his  request,  and  I  made  up  my  mind, 
since  the  thing  had  to  be  done,  to  broach  the  subject 
so  soon  as  we  should  all  be  safely  in  bed,  but  the  pros- 
pect was  anything  but  an  agreeable  one.  Suppose 
the  vice-consul  should  not  take  it  in  good  part ;  I 
would  be  inconsolable,  he  was  such  a  charming  com- 
panion. A  pure-blooded,  fiery  Sicilian,  he  talked  on 
the  most  trifling  subjects  with  the  ardor  and  emphasis 
of  an  inspired  preacher,  employing  such  adjectives  as 
terrible,  immense,  divine,  at  every  statement.  His 
mildest  gesture  was  to  wave  both  arms  over  his  head. 
To  see  him  discuss  anything,  with  those  eyes  starting 
out  of  his  head,  and  that  aquiline  nose,  which  looked 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  97 

as  though  it  were  trying  to  hook  his  adversary,  any- 
one would  naturally  have  supposed  him  to  be  irascible 
and  overbearing  to  a  degree  ;  instead  of  which  he  was 
the  kindest,  most  sweet-tempered  young  fellow  one 
could  well  imagine. 

"  Courage/'  murmured  the  captain,  when  we  were 
all  four  in  bed. 

"  Signor  Grande,"  I  began,  "  are  you  at  all  in  the 
habit  of  walking  about  in  your  sleep  ?" 

He  seemed  much  surprised  at  my  question. 

"  No,"  he  replied ;  "  and  what  is  more,  I  should  not 
like  it  at  all  if  anyone  else  were." 

"Very  odd,"  thought  I.  "Then,"  I  resumed, 
"you  admit  that  the  habit  is  a  dangerous  one  for 
other  people  ?" 

He  stared  at  me.  "  I  beg  your  pardon  "  he  said, 
after  a  moment,  "  but  I  really  hardly  think  that  this 
is  a  subject  for  you  to  joke  about." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  I,  somewhat  nettled, 
"  but  I  can  assure  you  that  nothing  is  farther  from 
my  intention  at  the  present  moment  than  joking,  as 
it  is  not  my  custom  to  joke  about  serious  matters." 

"  It  is  indeed  a  serious  matter,"  said  he,  "  and  I 
think  it  is  your  place  to  guard  against  its  becoming 
more  so." 

"  This  is  really  refreshing,"  cried  I.  "  Do  you  ex- 
pect me,  then,  to  go  out  and  sleep  in  the  fields  ?" 

"  Well,  it  seems  to  me  that  if  anyone  is  to  go  it 
should  be  you  rather  than  me." 
VOL.  I. -7 


98  HADD-EL-GHAEBIA. 

"  Why,  this  is  actually  insulting,"  said  I,  bounding 
into  a  sitting  position  on  the  side  of  my  bed. 

"Oh,  we  are  to  understand,  then,"  shouted  the 
vice-consul,  leaping  up  in  his  turn,  "  that  it  is  an  in- 
sult not  to  allow  one's  self  to  be  murdered !" 

An  explosion  of  laughter  from  the  captain  and  the 
commander  here  cut  short  the  discussion,  and  before 
they  were  able  to  speak  we  understood  that  we  had 
both  been  victims  of  a  practical  joke,  the  vice-consul 
having  been  made  to  believe  that  I  had  been  seen 
wandering  about  the  legation  at  night  arrayed  in  a 
sheet  and  carrying  a  pistol.  The  night  passed  with- 
out further  incident,  and  by  sunrise  I  was  up  and 
out. 

The  European  camp  was  still  buried  in  slumber, 
but  over  among  the  tents  of  the  escort  there  seemed 
to  be  a  slight  stir.  All  the  eastern  sky  was  tinted 
rose-color.  Advancing  to  the  centre  of  the  camp  I 
stood  for  some  time  gazing  at  the  scene  before  me. 
The  tents  were  pitched  on  a  grassy  hill-side,  dotted 
over  with  Indian  figs,  aloes  and  flowering  shrubs ; 
hard  by  that  of  the  minister  there  arose  a  lofty  palm- 
tree,  leaning  gracefully  towards  the  east ;  away  from 
the  hill  stretched  a  wide  flowery  plain,  bounded  in 
the  distance  by  a  line  of  deep  green  hills,  beyond 
which  others  could  be  seen,  blue  and  almost  melting 
into  the  limpid  sky.  In  all  that  broad  expanse  not 
a  single  house,  or  herd,  or  tent,  or  cloud  of  smoke 
was  to  be  seen.  It  was  an  immense  garden,  from 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  99 

which  every  living  thing  had  apparently  been  ex- 
pelled. A  light  perfumed  breeze  stirred  the  leaves 
of  the  palm-tree — no  other  sound  disturbed  the  abso- 
lute quiet.  Turning  suddenly  at  length,  I  found  ten 
staring  eyes  fixed  upon  me,  belonging  to  five  Arabs 
seated  on  a  mass  of  rock  a  short  distance  off — peas- 
ants who  had  come  during  the  night  from  who  knows 
where  to  see  the  camp.  There  they  sat  like  figures 
hewn  out  of  the  stone  beneath  them,  gazing  stolidly 
at  me  without  so  much  as  winking,  and  giving  not 
the  slightest  indication  of  curiosity,  or  pleasure,  or 
ill-will,  or  embarrassment,  all  five  of  them  immovable 
and  impassive,  their  faces  half-hidden  under  their 
hoods,  looking  like  the  very  impersonation  of  the 
solitude  and  silence  of  the  desert.  I  put  one  hand  in 
my  pocket,  the  ten  eyes  followed  the  movement  j  I 
drew  out  a  cigar,  the  eyes  instantly  fastened  upon  it ; 
I  walked  forward,  turned  back,  stooped  to  pick  up  a 
stone,  those  ten  eyes  never  left  me  ;  nor  were  they, 
I  soon  discovered,  the  only  ones.  Little  by  little  I 
discerned  a  couple  here,  a  group  there,  seated  about 
in  the  grass,  enveloped  as  well  in  hooded  capes,  and 
equally  immovable,  their  eyes  fixed  upon  me.  They 
looked  like  people  risen  out  of  the  ground — corpses 
with  wide-staring  eyes,  apparitions  rather  than  actual 
persons,  who  might  vanish  at  the  first  rays  of  the  sun. 
A  long  tremulous  cry  from  the  escort  camp  presently 
distracted  my  attention.  It  was  a  Mussulman  soldier 
announcing  the  prayer-hour  to  his  companions — the 


100  HADD-EL-GHARBIA. 

first  of  the  five  canonical  hours  at  which  every  Mus- 
sulman must  daily  say  his  prayers.  Some  soldiers 
came  out  of  the  camp,  and,  spreading  their  cloaks  on 
the  ground,  knelt  down  with  faces  turned  towards  the 
east.  First  rubbing  their  heads,  hands,  arms  and  feet 
with  a  handful  of  dirt,  they  began  reciting  their 
prayers  in  low  tones,  kneeling,  rising  to  their  feet, 
prostrating  themselves  face  down  on  the  grass,  raising 
their  open  hands  to  their  ears,  and  squatting  on  their 
heels.  The  commander  of  the  escort  came  out  of  his 
tent,  then  the  servants,  then  the  cooks,  till  in  a  few 
moments  the  greater  part  of  the  population  of  the 
camp  was  on  foot.  The  sun,  hardly  yet  well  above 
the  horizon,  was  already  blazing  hot. 

Re-entering  my  tent,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
several  oddities  whom  I  will  have  occasion  to  men- 
tion more  or  less  frequently  in  the  course  of  this 
narrative.  The  first  to  appear  was  one  of  the  two 
Italian  seamen — the  commander's  orderly — a  Sicilian, 
born  at  Porto  Empedocle,  named  Ranni.  He  was 
a  young  man  of  five-and-twenty,  tall  and  strong  as 
Hercules,  of  excellent  character,  grave  as  a  judge,  and 
possessing  the  singular  characteristic  of  never  being 
surprised  at  anything,  finding  everything  perfectly 
natural,  like  Gol  in  the  Cinque  seUimane  in  pallone, 
astonished  only  at  the  astonishment  of  others.  To 
him  Porto  Empedocle,  Gibraltar,  Africa,  China — 
where  he  had  been — the  moon  itself,  had  it  been 
brought  to  him,  were  all  precisely  alike. 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA.  101 

"  Well,  what  do  you  say  to  this  life  ?"  asked  the 
commander,  as  he  helped  him  to  dress. 

u  What  would  you  have  me  say  I"  was  the  reply. 

"  Why,  the  journey,  the  strange  country,  all  this 
confusion,  has  it  made  no  impression  upon  you  at  all  ? " 

The  orderly  thought  about  it  a  little  while,  and 
then  answered,  quite  simply,  "No,  no  impression 
at  all." 

"  None  ?  But  the  camp,  at  least  that  is  an  en- 
tirely new  experience  for  you  ?" 

"  No,  Signer  Commandante,  it  is  not." 

"Why,  when  did  you  ever  see  such  a  thing  be- 
fore?" 

"  I  saw  it  last  night." 

The  commander  looked  at  him  a  moment.  "  Well, 
last  night,  then,"  said  he,  beginning  to  grow  a  little 
testy.  "  What  impression  did  the  camp  make  upon 
you  last  night  ? " 

"Why,"  replied  the  worthy  man,  frankly,  "you 
see  it  made — well,  just  the  same  impression  on  me 
that  it  did  this  morning." 

The  commander  bowed  his  head  in  an  attitude  of 
resignation. 

Presently  there  appeared  another  personage  quite 
as  curious  in  his  way.  This  was  an  Arab  of  Tan- 
gier whom  the  vice-consul  had  hired  for  the  jour- 
ney. His  name  was  Ciua,  but  his  master  called  him 
Civa,  as  being  more  easily  pronounced.  He  was  a  big, 
fat  youth,  very  silly,  but  good,  and  anxious  to  do 


102  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

right ;  a  great,  simple  child,  who  usually  laughed  and 
hid  his  face  when  he  found  any  one  looking  at  him.  His 
clothing  consisted  of  a  single  long,  full,  white  tunic, 
which  floated  off  behind  as  he  walked  in  the  most 
ridiculous  fashion,  making  him  look  like  a  caricature 
of  a  cherub.  He  knew  about  thirty  words  in  Spanish, 
and  with  these  he  managed  to  make  himself  under- 
stood when  he  was  obliged  to  talk,  but  with  his 
master  he  usually  employed  only  signs.  From  his 
appearance  I  took  him  to  be  about  twenty-five,  but 
it  is  easy  to  make  mistakes  in  judging  of  an  Arab's 
age,  so  I  asked  him.  First  he  covered  his  face  with 
one  hand,  then  reflected  for  some  moments,  and 
finally  answered,  "  Cuando  guerra  Espana — ano  y 
medio  ;"  that  is,  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  war — a 
year  and  a  half.  As  the  war  with  Spain  was  in  1860, 
it  would  make  him  seventeen. 

"  What  a  tremendous  fellow  for  his  age,"  said  the 
vice-consul. 

"  Huge,"  I  replied. 

The  next  person  was  the  ambassador's  cook,  who 
brought  us  our  coffee.  He  was  a  pure  Piedmontese, 
"  cut  out  of  a  single  block,"  a  pillar  of  the  gateway 
of  the  Piazza  Castello,  who  had  come  straight  from 
Turin,  which  he  called  "the  garden  of  Italy,"  to 
Tangier  only  a  few  days  before,  and  had  not  yet 
recovered  himself.  The  poor  man  could  say  nothing 
but  "  What  a  country  !  what  a  country  !"  I  asked 
him  if,  before  he  left  Turin,  they  had  not  told  him 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA.  103 

what  sort  of  a  place  Morocco  was,  and  what  kind 
of  city  Tangier.  He  answered  yes ;  they  had  said 
to  him,  "  Now,  remember,  Tangier  is  not  Turin ;  it 
will  not  be  like  Turin  at  all ;"  and  he  had  said  to 
himself,  "Patience,  it  will  be  like  Genoa,  then,  or 
Alessandria/'  and,  instead,  it  had  been  a  city  like 
that,  in  the  midst  of  savages,  and  they  had  given  him 
two  Arabs  to  help  him  who  could  not  understand  a 
single  word  of  Piedmontese.  "  Oh,  poor  me  !"  and, 
in  addition  to  everything  else,  they  were  to  take  a 
two-months'  journey  across  the  Egyptian  desert !  He 
prophesied  that  we  would  never  get  back  alive.  "  But 
at  least,"  said  I,  "  if  you  do  get  back  to  Turin  you 
will  have  a  great  deal  to  tell  about."  "Ah,"  he 
replied,  in  a  mournful  tone,  as  he  went  off,  "  what 
is  there  to  say  about  a  country  where  you  cannot 
find  so  much  as  a  couple  of  leaves  of  salad !" 

Breakfast  over,  the  ambassador  gave  the  order  to 
break  camp.  During  this  lengthy  operation,  upon 
which  nearly  a  hundred  persons  were  engaged,  I  had 
leisure  to  observe  a  very  striking  trait  in  the  Arab 
character — the  passion,  that  is,  for  command.  No  out- 
ward badge  was  needed  for  one  to  recognize  at  a 
glance,  amid  all  that  crowd  and  confusion,  the  head 
muleteer,  the  head  porter,  the  head  of  the  tent-ser- 
vants, the  head  of  the  legation  soldiers.  Whoever 
was  invested  with  any  authority  over  his  fellows  let 
it  be  seen  and  heard  in  and  out  of  season  with  voice 
and  hands  and  eyes,  and  all  his  powers  of  mind  and 


104  HADD-EL-GHARBIA. 

body,  while  those  who  really  had  no  authority  seized 
upon  the  most  trifling  pretexts  to  give  orders  to  their 
equals,  deluding  themselves  with  a  pretence  of  being 
a  little  above  the  others.  The  raggedest  servant 
among  them  was  made  blissfully  happy  if  for  one 
moment  he  could  assume  an  imperious  attitude.  The 
simplest  operation,  such  as  tying  a  rope  or  lifting  a 
box,  called  for  an  interchange  of  deafening  cries,  fiery 
looks,  the  gestures  of  a  haughty  sultan.  Even  Civo, 
modest,  unassuming  Civo,  was  very  high-handed  with 
two  inoffensive  country  Arabs  who  had  taken  the 
liberty  of  looking,  from  quite  a  distance,  at  his  mas- 
ter's trunks. 

At  ten  o'clock,  beneath  a  burning  sun,  the  long 
caravan  began  slowly  to  descend  into  the  plain.  The 
Spanish  consul  and  his  two  companions  had  left  us  at 
daybreak ;  the  only  persons  now  remaining  beside  the 
members  of  the  embassy  were  the  American  consul 
and  his  sons.  From  the  spot  where  we  had  passed 
the  night,  called  by  the  Arabs  "  Ain-Dalia " — foun- 
tain of  wine,  from  the  grape-vines  which  once  grew 
there — we  were  to  travel  that  day  to  Hadd-el-Gharbia, 
beyond  the  mountains  which  inclose  the  plain.  For 
more  than  an  hour  we  journeyed  over  slightly  undu- 
lating ground,  between  fields  of  barley  and  millet,  by 
winding  paths,  which  occasionally  crossed  aud  re- 
crossed  one  another,  forming  small  islands  of  rank 
grass  and  tall  flowers.  No  one  was  to  be  seen  either 
in  the  fields  or  on  the  road,  except  at  the  end  of  the 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  105 

first  half-hour,  when  we  encountered  a  long  train  of 
camels  led  by  two  Bedouins,  who  accosted  us  as  they 
passed  with  the  usual  greeting,  "Peace  be  upon 
your  road."  It  was  very  painful  to  me  to  see  those 
poor  Arab  servants,  running  along-side  of  us  on  foot, 
laden  with  umbrellas,  wraps,  glasses,  portfolios — con- 
trivances of  whose  very  names  and  uses  they  were 
ignorant — obliged  to  keep  up  on  a  run  with  the 
rapid  pace  of  our  mules,  choked  with  dust,  scorched 
by  the  sun,  ill-fed,  half-naked,  at  everyone's  beck  and 
call,  not  owning  a  thing  in  the  world  but  a  rag  of  a 
tunic  and  a  pair  of  old  shoes,  having  come  on  foot 
from  Fez  to  Tangier  only  to  return  on  foot  from 
Tangier  to  Fez,  and  then,  who  knows  ?  Start  off 
with  another  caravan  to  go  from  Fez  to  Morocco,  and 
so  on,  for  the  rest  of  their  lives,  and  all  in  order  not  to 
die  of  hunger,  and  to  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  rest- 
ing their  bones  at  night  beneath  a  tent.  I  thought  as  I 
looked  at  them  of  Goethe's  "piramide  della  esistenza." 
There  was  a  mulatto  boy  among  them,  about  thirteen 
or  fourteen  years  old,  good-looking  and  extremely 
active,  who  fixed  now  on  me,  now  on  other  members 
of  the  party,  his  two  big  black  eyes,  beaming  over 
with  curiosity  and  interest,  in  which  a  thousand  un- 
spoken questions  could  be  read.  He  was  a  foundling, 
the  fruit  of  who  can  say  what  strange  union,  and  was 
embarking  with  the  Italian  caravan  on  that  exhaust- 
ing career  which  he  would  in  all  probability  only  quit 
to  drop  into  the  grave.  Another,  an  old  man  all  skin 


106  HADD-EL-GHARBIA. 

and  bone,  ran  with  his  head  down,  closed  eyes  and 
clinched  fists  and  the  desperate  resignation  of  a  con- 
demned man.  Others  talked  and  laughed  in  gasps. 
Suddenly  one  detached  himself  from  the  others,  shot 
ahead,  and  passing  everyone  disappeared.  Ten  min- 
utes later  we  came  upon  him  seated  in  the  shade  of  a 
fig-tree ;  he  had  made  a  half-mile  dash  in  order  to 
gain  five  minutes  on  the  caravan,  and  rest  himself  in 
the  shade. 

Meanwhile  we  had  reached  the  foot  of  a  small 
mountain,  called  in  Arabic  the  Red  Mountain,  from 
the  color  of  the  soil — rough,  precipitous  and  covered 
with  the  tangled  shoots  of  a  forest  which  had  been 
cut  down.  This  ascent  had  been  described  to  us  all 
the  way  from  Tangier  as  being  the  most  perilous  one 
of  the  journey.  "  Mule  of  mine,"  I  murmured,  "  to 
your  care  I  confide  my  contract  with  my  publishers," 
and  so  saying  I  urged  him  forward,  with  my  mind 
fully  prepared  for  a  head-over-heels  tumble.  The 
path  wound  up  amid  great  rocks,  apparently  sharp- 
ened and  pointed  by  my  personal  enemy  with  an  ex- 
press view  to  leaving  their  impressions  upon  the 
hinder-parts  of  my  person.  At  every  uncertain  move- 
ment of  the  mule  I  could  feel  one  of  the  chapters  of 
my  future  book  tumble  out  of  my  head.  Twice  the 
poor  beast,  falling  on  his  knees,  landed  my  soul  on 
the  confines  of  a  better  world,  but  finally  I  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  top  safe  and  sound,  where,  to  my 
great  surprise,  I  found  I  had  left  all  the  others  be- 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  107 

hind,  the  two  painters  only  excepted,  they  having 
pushed  on  ahead  so  as  to  get  a  view  from  above  of 
the  caravan  in  movement.  And,  indeed,  the  specta- 
cle was  well  worth  a  forced  march.  It  extended  from 
half-way  up  the  side  of  the  mountain  for  more  than  a 
mile  into  the  plain  below.  First  came  the  embassy 
party,  conspicuous  in  which  were  the  ambassador's 
plumed  hat  and  Muhammed  Ducai's  white  turban, 
and  on  either  side  of  and  behind  them  a  crowd  of  ser- 
vants, mounted  and  on  foot,  scattered  picturesquely 
about  among  the  rocks  and  bushes  of  the  hill-side. 
Behind  these  came,  in  couples  or  groups  or  in  single 
file,  wrapped  in  their  white  and  blue  cloaks,  and 
bowed  low  over  their  scarlet  saddles,  the  horsemen  of 
the  escort,  looking  like  a  procession  of  masquers,  and 
behind  the  escort  the  interminable  line  of  mules  and 
horses,  laden  with  tents,  boxes,  furniture,  kitchen 
utensils  and  provisions,  flanked  by  soldiers  and  ser- 
vants, the  last  of  whom  were  little  more  than  white 
and  red  specks  in  the  green  distance  of  the  plain. 
One  would  hardly  believe  how  that  variegated,  armed, 
glittering  company  animated  the  solitary  valley. 
What  a  strange  and  at  the  same  time  festive  scene  it 
presented !  Had  I  at  that  moment  possessed  the 
power  to  turn  them  all  into  stone,  in  order  to  study 
them  at  my  ease,  I  should  never  have  been  able  to 
resist  the  temptation.  Turning  away  at  length  to  re- 
sume the  journey,  I  had  another  surprise.  There,  but 
a  few  miles  away,  lay  the  Atlantic,  its  surface  as 


108  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

blue  and  unruffled  as  a  lake.  One  ship  only  was  in 
sight,  sailing  very  near  the  coast  in  the  direction  of 
the  strait.  The  commander,  by  using  his  glass,  made 
out  that  she  was  an  Italian  vessel.  What  would  we 
not  have  given  to  have  been  seen  and  recognized  in 
turn !  From  the  Red  Mountain  we  descended  into 
another  charming  valley,  all  covered  with  wild  flowers, 
which  formed,  as  it  were,  a  carpet  of  red,  lilac  and 
white.  Not  a  horse,  not  a  tent,  not  a  human  being 
anywhere  to  be  seen.  The  ambassador  deciding  to 
call  a  halt,  we  all  dismounted  and  seated  ourselves  in 
the  shade  of  a  group  of  trees,  while  the  baggage-train 
pursued  its  way.  Around  us,  a  little  distance  off,  sat 
the  servants,  each  one  holding  in  his  hand  the  bridle 
of  a  horse  or  mule.  The  two  painters  drew  out  their 
books  to  make  a  few  sketches,  but  they  had  their 
trouble  for  their  pains,  for  no  sooner  did  one  of  those 
shirtless  ones  discover  that  he  was  being  observed 
than  he  promptly  turned  his  back,  or  hid  behind  a 
tree,  or  drew  his  hood  down  over  his  eyes.  Three, 
one  after  another,  arose  and  went  grumbling  off, 
leading  their  beasts  to  some  spot  fifty  feet  farther 
away.  They  did  not  even  want  to  have  the  animals 
drawn.  He  who  missed  seeing  Signor  Biseo  on  that 
occasion  has  never  been  face  to  face  with  Wrath. 
He  did  everything  in  his  power  to  induce  them  to  sit 
still — imploring,  laughing  at  and  offering  them  money. 
Wasted  breath.  They  replied  by  a  negative  motion 
of  the  hand,  pointing  to  the  sky  and  smiling  cun- 


formed,  as  it  were,  a  carpet  of  n.-.'L  iliac  aud 
Not  a  horse,  not  a  \< T.I,  nut  a   1  iiuau  being 


than   b 


uu 


They  did  not  even  want  to  have  the  a 
a.     He  who  missed  seeing  Signer  Bis< 
i»>n   has  never  been   face   c<.   {>.-,:  wi? 
id  everything  in  his  power  to  indu 
itipiuriiig.  laughing  at  and  offering 

Mountain  and  Valley  in  the  Interior 
\«  Laud,  pointing  v<  ih-.-   sk ,  ajul 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA.  109 

ningly,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  We  are  not  quite  such 
fools  as  that."  Not  even  the  mulatto  boy,  not  even 
the  legation  soldiers,  brought  up,  one  might  say, 
among  Europeans,  and  already  on  quite  familiar  terms 
with  the  two  artists,  were  willing  to  allow  their  images 
to  be  profaned  by  a  Christian  pencil.  The  Koran, 
as  everyone  knows,  forbids  the  representation  of  the 
human  figure,  and  of  animals  as  well,  as  being  a  prin- 
ciple of,  or  temptation  to,  idolatry.  Signer  Biseo  got 
the  interpreter  to  ask  one  of  the  soldiers  what  reason 
he  had  for  refusing  to  allow  himself  to  be  drawn.  "  It 
is  because,"  he  replied,  "in  that  figure  which  he 
wishes  to  make,  the  artist  is  unable  to  instil  the  soul; 
to  what  end  then  would  he  do  it  ?  God  alone  can 
create  a  living  being,  and  it  is  sacrilege  to  attempt  to 
imitate  His  work."  The  mulatto  boy  was  next  in- 
terrogated as  to  his  reasons.  "  Draw  my  portrait," 
said  he,  laughing,  a  while  I  am  asleep,  if  you  choose, 
it  makes  no  difference  to  me,  it  will  not  be  my  fault; 
but  when  I  can  see  you  do  it — never  in  the  world." 
Whereupon  Biseo  set  to  work  to  sketch  one  of  them 
who  lay  fast  asleep,  while  his  companions  stood  in 
groups  a  little  apart,  gazing  with  big,  wondering  eyes, 
now  at  the  artist,  now  at  the  sleeper.  All  at  once  the 
man  awoke,  looked  around,  understood  what  was 
going  on,  and,  getting  up,  walked  off  with  a  gesture 
of  annoyance,  amid  the  laughter  of  the  others,  who 
had  the  air  of  saying,  "  He  has  done  you,  you  are 
ruined  now." 


110  HADD-EL-GHAEBIA. 

Resuming  our  journey,  an  hour's  ride  brought  us 
to  where  the  tents  of  the  camp  could  be  seen  gleam- 
ing on  the  horizon.  A  troop  of  horse,  appearing  from 
I  know  not  where,  bore  down  rapidly  upon  us,  the 
riders  shouting  and  discharging  their  guns.  Halting 
about  ten  feet  away,  the  leader  advanced  and  shook 
hands  with  the  ambassador,  and  they  all  then  fell  in 
with  the  escort.  They  were  cavalry  of  the  district 
where  our  tents  were  pitched,  soldiers  belonging  to  a 
sort  of  landwehr,  which  forms  the  principal  part  of 
the  Moroccoan  army  (if  indeed  the  military  forces  of 
Morocco  can  properly  be  termed  an  army),  and  is 
composed  of  all  males  trained  to  bear  arms  from  the 
age  of  sixteen  to  sixty.  Some  of  these  men  wore 
turbans,  others  had  red  handkerchiefs  knotted  at  the 
back  of  their  heads,  and  all  were  attired  in  white 
caftans  When  we  reached  the  camp  they  were  just 
erecting  the  last  tents.  The  spot  chosen  this  time 
was  a  stretch  of  arid,  undulating  ground;  on  one 
side  could  be  seen  in  the  far  distance  a  range  of  blue 
mountains,  on  the  other  a  chain  of  green  hills.  About 
half  a  mile  from  the  tents  were  two  groups  of  thatched 
huts,  half-hidden  among  Indian  fig-trees.  We  all 
assembled  in  one  of  the  tents,  and  hardly  were  we 
well  seated  when  a  member  of  the  legation  guard 
came  running  up,  and  halting  in  front  of  the  ambas- 
sador announced,  in  delighted  tones,  "  The  mono,  !n 
"Let  them  bring  it,"  said  the  ambassador,  rising. 
Every  one  followed  his  example,  and  presently  a  long 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  Ill 

train  of  Arabs,  accompanied  by  the  commander  of 
the  escort,  the  legation  guard,  and  all  the  servants, 
was  seen  advancing  through  the  camp,  and  drawing 
up  in  line  before  the  tent  they  proceeded  to  lay  at 
the  minister's  feet  a  quantity  of  charcoal,  eggs,  sugar, 
butter,  candles  and  bread,  together  with  three  dozen 
chickens  and  eight  sheep.  This  was  the  mona,  a 
tribute  which  the  country  people,  in  addition  to  the 
heavy  taxes  they  have  to  pay  in  money,  are  obliged 
to  furnish  to  all  official  personages,  the  Sultan's  sol- 
diers, and  the  embassies  which  pass  through  their 
region  of  country.  The  Government  fixes  the 
amount  of  provisions  to  be  paid,  but  as  the  local 
authorities  assess  the  people  at  their  own  pleasure,  it 
follows  that  the  quantity  of  stuff  actually  received  by 
those  for  whom  it  is  intended,  although  always  more 
than  is  really  needed,  is  only  a  small  part  of  what  was 
extorted  a  month  before  or  will  possibly  be  extorted 
a  month  after  the  day  of  presentation. 

An  old  man,  apparently  the  chief  of  the  customs, 
addressed,  by  means  of  the  interpreter,  some  obse- 
quious words  to  the  ambassador ;  the  others,  all  of 
them  poor  country-folk,  clad  for  the  most  part  in 
rags,  gazed  helplessly  from  us  to  the  tents,  and  then 
at  their  property,  the  fruit  of  their  toil  and  sweat, 
with  a  melancholy  wonder  expressive  only  'tf  pro- 
found resignation.  A  rapid  distribution  of  the  pro- 
visions followed,  the  ambassador's  table,  the  legation 
soldiers,  the  escort  and  muleteers  being  supplied  in 


112  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

turn.  Signer  Morteo,  who  only  that  day  had  been 
appointed  general  intendant  of  the  camp,  handed  a 
gratuity  to  the  old  Arab,  and  he  making  a  sign  to 
the  others,  they  all  turned  away  in  silence  and  took 
their  way  back  to  their  huts.  A  tremendous  row 
then  ensued — and  the  same  thing  may  be  said  of 
every  other  similar  occasion  throughout  the  journey — 
anent  the  re-distribution  of  the  mono,  among  the  in- 
dividual soldiers,  servants  and  muleteers.  It  was  a 
most  amusing  scene.  Two  or  three  men  marched 
excitedly  up  and  down  the  camp  carrying  a  sheep  in 
their  arms  and  loudly  invoking  Allah  and  the  ambas- 
sador 5  others  shouted  their  claims  vociferously,  pound- 
ing on  the  ground  with  their  fists  |  Civa  waved  his 
white  tunic  about  here  and  there  in  the  profound  con- 
viction that  he  was  very  terrible.  The  sheep  bleated, 
the  chickens  got  loose,  the  dogs  howled — suddenly 
the  ambassador  rose  to  his  feet,  and  there  was  in- 
stant silence,  only  Selam  continued  to  grumble  for 
some  moments  longer. 

Selam,  be  it  known,  was  a  very  great  personage. 
There  were  really  two  members  of  the  legation  guard 
who  bore  that  name,  and  they  were  both  in  personal 
attendance  upon  the  ambassador ;  but  just  as,  when 
one  says  Napoleon,  without  any  addition  to  the  name, 
every  one  knows  that  Napoleon  I.  is  meant,  so  when 
any  of  us  during  the  journey  spoke  of  Selam,  he  was 
at  once  understood  to  refer  to  one  Selam  in  particular. 
How  plainly  he  rises  before  me  now  as  I  write ;  he, 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  113 

the  bridegroom  Mohammed  and  the  Emperor  were  to 
my  mind  the  three  most  attractive  personalities  I  en- 
countered in  Morocco.     Selam  was  a  strong,  hand- 
some, active  young  man  with  a  very  quick  mind ;  he 
took  everything  in  at  a  glance,  did  everything  in  a 
hurry,  walked  in  bounds,  talked  by  looks,  and  was  in 
motion  from  morning  to  night.     Every  one  appealed 
to  him  about  the  baggage,  tents,  cooking,  horses.    He 
spoke  Spanish  fairly  well,  and  knew  a  few  words  of 
Italian,  but  he  could  make  himself  perfectly  well  un- 
derstood by  employing  only  Arabic,  so  speaking  and 
picturesque  were  his  gestures.     To  give  the  idea  of 
a  hill  he  made  such  a  motion  as  one  might  expect 
from  some  fiery  colonel  pointing  out  to  his  men  a 
height  to  be  charged ;  when  he  scolded  one  of  the 
servants  he  threw  himself  on  him  as  though  about  to 
annihilate  him  ;  he  constantly  reminded  me  of  Tomaso 
Salvini  in  the  parts  of  Orosmane  and  Othello.     In 
whatever  occupation  he  might  be  engaged,  whether 
pouring  cold  water  down  the  ambassador's  back  or 
flying  by  on  a  gallop  mounted  on  his  chestnut  horse, 
he  always  presented  a  fine  and  dashing  appearance, 
and  the  two  artists  were  never  tired  of  watching  him. 
He  always  wore  a  scarlet  caftan  and  light-blue  trous- 
ers, and  could  be  distinguished  at  a  glance  from  one 
end  of  the  caravan  to  the  other,  while  throughout  the 
camp  you  heard  his  name  being  continually  called  in 
all  directions.     He  ran  about  from  one  tent  to  another 
joking  with  us,  shouting  at  the  servants,  giving  and 
VOL.  L— 8 


114  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

receiving  orders,  quarrelling,  scolding,  and  bursting 
into  laughter.  When  he  was  angry  he  looked 
like  a  savage,  when  he  laughed  he  was  like  a  child. 
In  the  course  of  every  dozen  words  that  he  uttered 
you  could  hear  "el  senor  ministro"  For  him  the 
minister  ranked  next  after  Allah  and  the  Prophet; 
ten  guns  levelled  at  his  breast  would  not  have  made 
him  change  color,  while  at  an  undeserved  reproof 
from  the  ambassador  he  would  weep  like  a  child ;  his 
age  was  twenty-five. 

When  he  had  finished  grumbling  he  came  over  to 
where  I  was  and  began  opening  a  box.  As  he  leaned 
over,  his  fez  fell  off  and  I  noticed  some  drops  of  blood 
on  his  clean-shaven  head.  On  asking  what  they  meant 
I  was  informed  in  an  off-hand  manner  that  he  had 
hurt  himself  with  one  of  the  big  mono,  sugar-loaves. 
"  I  threw  it  up  in  the  air,"  said  he,  "  and  let  it  come 
down  on  my  head."  As  I  looked  a  little  puzzled,  he 
proceeded  to  explain.  "  I  do  it  so  as  to  harden  my 
head;  at  first  I  used  to  drop  to  the  ground  half  dead, 
but  now  I  only  lose  a  few  drops  of  blood;  in  time  I 
will  not  so  much  as  crack  the  skin.  All  the  Arabs  do 
that;  my  father  could  break  bricks  nearly  two  fingers 
thick  on  his  skull  as  easily  as  I  could  a  crust  of  bread. 
A  true  Arab  boy,"  he  concluded,  proudly,  at  the  same 
tune  pounding  his  crown  with  his  clinched  fist, 
"  should  have  a  head  like  iron." 

That  evening  the  camp  presented  a  totally  differ- 
ent aspect  from  that  of  the  night  before.  Every 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA.  115 

one  had  settled  down  into  regular  habits.  The  two 
artists,  their  easels  set  up  in  front  of  their  tent,  were 
hard  at  work  painting ;  the  captain  had  gone  to  take 
a  look  at  the  lay  of  the  land ;  the  vice-consul  to  catch 
insects ;  the  ex-minister  of  Spain  to  hunt  partridges  ; 
the  ambassador  and  the  commander  were  playing 
chess  in  the  mess-tent ;  the  servants  were  jumping 
over  one  another's  backs,  placing  their  hands  on  each 
other's  shoulders  ;  the  soldiers  of  the  escort  sat  in  a 
circle  talking;  others  walked  up  and  down,  read, 
wrote ;  it  was  as  though  we  had  been  camping  a 
month,  and  had  there  only  been  a  small  printing-press 
at  hand  I  should  have  been  tempted  to  start  a  daily 
paper.  The  weather  was  superb,  we  dined  with  the 
tent-doors  open,  and  throughout  the  meal  the  Hadd- 
el-Grharbia  cavalry  saluted  the  ambassador  with  noisy 
volleys  from  their  muskets,  while  a  magnificent  sun- 
set lighted  up  the  scene. 

The  seat  next  to  mine  at  table  was  occupied  by 
Mohammed  Ducali,  and  I  had  a  chance  for  the  first 
time  to  observe  him  attentively.  He  was  the  verit- 
able type  of  a  wealthy  Moor;  effeminate,  elegant, 
obsequious,  and,  as  I  said,  wealthy,  since  he  was  re- 
puted to  own  more  than  thirty  houses  in  Tangier, 
although  just  at  that  time  his  affairs  were  somewhat 
embarrassed.  He  might  have  been  about  forty  years 
old ;  was  tall  and  fair,  with  regular  features  and  a 
beard ;  on  his  head  he  wore  a  small  turban,  around 
which  was  wound  a  ca/ik  of  the  finest  Fez  gauze, 


116  HADD-EL-GHAEBIA. 

which  fell  in  folds  over  an  embroidered  purple  cloth 
caftan ;  he  smiled  so  as  to  show  his  teeth,  spoke 
Spanish  in  a  womanish  voice,  struck  attitudes,  and 
had  the  air  and  manner  of  a  languid  lover.  He  had 
been  a  merchant  formerly,  and  had  visited  Italy, 
Spam,  London  and  Paris,  returning  at  last  to  Morocco 
thoroughly  imbued  with  European  ideas  and  habits ; 
he  drank  wine,  smoked  cigarettes,  wore  stockings, 
read  novels,  and  talked  about  his  love  affairs.  The 
principal  cause  that  was  taking  him  to  Fez  was  a 
claim  he  had  against  the  Government,  and  which  he 
hoped,  through  the  good  offices  of  the  ambassador,  to 
succeed  in  collecting.  He  had  brought  his  own  tents, 
servants,  and  mules,  and  from  the  look  in  his  eyes 
would  no  doubt  have  liked  to  bring  his  women  as  well, 
had  such  a  thing  been  possible,  but  upon  this  topic  he 
observed  the  strictest  reserve ;  the  women  of  whom  he 
spoke  in  recounting  his  adventures  were  all  Euro- 
peans ;  the  harem  was  for  him,  too,  a  sacred  subject.  I 
ventured  one  single  question,  couched  in  vague  terms ; 
he  looked  at  me,  smiled  modestly,  and  made  no  reply. 
After  dinner,  determined  to  gratify  a  strong  desire 
I  had  cherished  ever  since  setting  out  from  Tangier, 
I  made  a  nocturnal  excursion  through  the  camp,  and 
it  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  entertaining  experi- 
ences I  had  on  the  entire  trip.  Waiting  until  every 
one  had  gone  to  their  tents,  I  wrapped  myself  in  a 
white  cloak  belonging  to  the  commander  and  sallied 
forth  in  search  of  adventures. 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA.  117 

The  sky  was  covered  with  stars  ;  all  the  lanterns, 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  one  swinging  from 
the  top  of  the  flag-staff,  had  gone  out ;  throughout  the 
entire  camp  there  reigned  the  most  profound  silence. 
Very  softly,  and  taking  good  care  to  avoid  stumbling 
over  the  tent-ropes,  I  turned  to  the  left,  and  had  not 
gone  half  a  dozen  steps  before  an  unexpected  noise 
attracted  my  attention.  I  stopped;  it  sounded  like  the 
notes  of  a  guitar  issuing  from  a  closed  tent,  which  I 
had  never  observed  before,  pitched  between  that  of 
the  ambassador  and  our  own,  but  about  thirty  feet 
beyond  the  circle  of  the  camp.  Drawing  near,  I  lis- 
tened. The  guitar  was  accompanying  a  thin,  sweet 
voice  which  was  singing  an  Arab  song  full  of  dreamy 
melancholy.  To  whom  did  this  mysterious  tent  be- 
long— could  it  be  possible  that  a  woman  was  inside  ? 
I  walked  all  around,  but  it  was  closed  on  all  sides ; 
then  I  got  down  on  the  ground  to  look  underneath. 
The  stooping  posture  made  me  cough.  Instantly  the 
song  ceased,  and  at  the  same  moment  a  gentle  voice 
close  by  me  said,  Quien  esf  (Who  is  it1?)  "Allah  pre- 
serve me,"  thought  I,  "  it  is  a  woman."  "  One  who 
is  very  curious,"  I  answered  aloud,  throwing  the  most 
pathetic  inflexion  I  could  into  my  voice.  A  burst  of 
laughter  was  the  response,  and  a  man's  voice  said  in 
Spanish,  "  Good !  Come  in,  then,  and  have  a  cup 
of  tea."  What  a  disappointment !  It  was  Moham- 
med Ducali.  However,  I  was  more  than  consoled 
when,  on  pushing  back  the  curtain,  I  found  myself 


118  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

in  a  beautiful  tent  hung  with  a  rich  flowered  mate- 
rial ornamented  with  little  arched  windows,  lighted 
by  a  Moorish  lamp,  and  the  air  heavy  with  perfume ; 
a  fit  abode,  in  short,  in  every  respect  to  shelter  the 
fairest  of  the  Sultan's  odalisques.  Seated  beside  Du- 
cali,  who  was  stretched  out  voluptuously  on  a  Rabat 
rug,  his  head  pillowed  on  a  rich  cushion,  was  a  young 
Arab  of  pleasing,  thoughtful  aspect,  holding  a  guitar 
in  his  hand,  upon  which  he  had  been  accompanying 
himself;  in  the  centre  of  the  tent  stood  a  handsome 
tea-service,  and  on  one  side  smoke  was  rising  from  a 
perfume-burner.  I  explained  to  Ducali  how  I  came 
to  be  prowling  about  his  tent ;  he  laughed,  offered  me 
a  cup  of  tea,  made  his  boy  sing  me  something,  and 
wished  me  a  pleasant  journey;  then  I  stepped  out 
again,  the  curtain  dropped  back  in  place,  and  I  found 
myself  once  more  in  the  silent,  deserted  camp.  Mak- 
ing my  way  around  another  tent  occupied  by  Ducali's 
servants,  I  proceeded  towards  that  of  the  ambassador. 
Stretched  in  front  of  the  door  in  his  light-blue  cape, 
with  his  sword  lying  close  beside  him,  lay  Selam.  If 
I  were  to  awaken  him  and  he  should  fail  to  recognize 
me  at  once,  thought  I,  he  would  knock  me  down ;  let 
us  therefore  proceed  with  caution ;  and  drawing  near 
on  tiptoe  I  put  my  head  in  the  tent.  The  interior  was 
divided  in  two  by  a  handsome  curtain.  The  outer  half, 
which  served  as  a  reception-room,  was  furnished  with 
a  small  table  on  which  lay  writing  materials,  and 
some  gilt  arm-chairs ;  the  inner  half  was  used  as  a 


HADD-EL-GHARBIA.  119 

sleeping-chamber  by  the  ambassador  and  his  friend, 
the  ex-minister  of  Spain.  Thinking  that  I  would 
leave  my  visiting-card  on  the  table  I  stepped  lightly 
inside,  but  a  growl  from  Diana,  the  ambassador's  dog, 
arrested  me,  and  almost  at  the  same  moment  I  heard 
her  master's  voice  calling  out,  "Who  is  there  ?"  "A 
cutthroat,"  murmured  I.  He  recognized  my  voice 
at  once.  "Cut  away,"  he  said,  and  I  forthwith  ex- 
plained the  object  of  my  visit,  upon  which  he  laughed 
heartily,  and  grasping  my  hand  in  the  darkness 
wished  me  all  success.  As  I  went  out  my  foot  struck 
against  a  suspicious  object.  Lighting  a  match,  I  found 
it  was  a  tortoise,  while  a  little  further  off  sat  a  huge 
toad,  which  seemed  to  be  watching  me ;  for  a  minute 
I  thought  I  would  abandon  the  expedition,  but  curi- 
osity presently  getting  the  better  of  me,  I  went  on 
towards  the  intendant's  tent.  Just  as  I  leaned  over  to 
listen,  a  tall  white  form  rose  up  between  me  and  it 
and  a  voice  pronounced  the  word  "asleep"  in  sepul- 
chral accents.  I  jumped  back  as  though  I  had  seen  a 
ghost,  but  recovered  myself  as  I  recognized  Morteo's 
Arab  servant,  a  man  he  had  had  in  his  employment 
for  many  years,  and  who  had  picked  up  a  little  Ital- 
ian. Like  Selam,  he  always  slept  outside  his  master's 
tent  with  a  sword  beside  him.  Notwithstanding  my 
white  cloak  he  had  known  me  at  the  first  glance. 
Wishing  him  good-night,  I  continued  on  my  way. 
The  next  tent  was  occupied  by  the  doctor  and  the 
dragoman  Soliman  ;  a  strong  smell  of  medicines  an- 


120  HADD-EL-GHAEBIA. 

nounced  the  fact  ten  feet  away;  a  light  was  still 
burning  in  it ;  the  dragoman  was  asleep,  but  the  doctor 
sat  at  a  table  reading.  This  young  doctor,  a  cultivated 
man  of  most  gentlemanly  appearance  and  manners, 
had  one  curious  thing  about  him  :  born  in  Algeria  of 
French  parentage,  he  had  lived  for  many  years  in 
Italy  and  there  married  a  Spanish  wife  j  he  conse- 
quently not  only  spoke  the  three  languages  with 
equal  fluency,  but  seemed  to  partake  of  the  national 
characteristics  of  all  three  countries,  apparently  feel- 
ing the  same  degree  of  patriotism  for  each ;  in  short, 
he  was  a  Latin,  single  and  threefold,  who  was  equally 
at  home  in  Rome,  Madrid,  or  Paris.  He  possessed  a 
remarkably  keen  sense  of  humor ;  without  uttering  a 
word  or  endeavoring  to  attract  any  one's  attention  he 
would,  with  a  glance  or  slight  movement  of  the  lips, 
turn  a  person  or  statement  into  ridicule  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  raise  shouts  of  laughter.  As  soon  as  I 
appeared  he  guessed  what  I  was  after,  offered  me  a 
drop  of  something  to  drink,  and  lifting  his  glass  to 
his  lips  murmured,  "  To  the  success  of  the  under- 
taking." "  By  Allah's  help,"  I  answered,  and  then 
left  him  in  peace  to  his  reading.  Passing  in  front  of 
the  large  mess-tent,  now  deserted,  I  turned  to  the 
left,  and  quitting  the  camp  circle,  threaded  my  way 
between  two  long  lines  of  sleeping  camels,  and  came 
out  in  the  midst  of  the  tents  belonging  to  the  escort. 
Here  I  paused  to  listen  to  the  breathing  of  the  sleep- 
ing soldiers.  In  front  of  the  tents  were  heaps  of  guns, 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA.  121 

swords,  saddles,  scarfs,  daggers,  caiks,  and  the  flag 
of  Mohammed,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  battle- 
field. Looking  out  into  the  surrounding  country,  I 
could  see  no  one  in  any  direction;  even  the  two 
groups  of  huts  were  barely  discernible — merely  two 
vague,  dark  spots  in  the  landscape.  I  now  turned 
back,  and  after  passing  between  the  American  con- 
sul's tent  and  that  of  his  servants — both  closed  and 
silent — crossed  the  small  open  space  in  front  of  the 
kitchens,  surmounted  a  barricade  of  casks,  earthen- 
ware pots,  pans,  and  jugs,  and  finally  reached  the 
little  tent  where  the  cook  and  his  two  Arab  scullions 
slept.  I  thrust  my  head  inside  j  it  was  as  black  as 
pitch.  "  Gioanin"  I  said,  calling  the  cook  by  name. 
The  poor  man,  who  was  very  unhappy  over  the  fail- 
ure of  a  dish  of  fritters,  and  very  uneasy  probably  at 
the  close  vicinity  of  the  two  "  savages,"  was  still 
awake.  "  Is  it  you  ?"  he  asked.  "  Yes,  it  is  I." 

He  paused  a  moment  before  making  any  reply, 
and  then  turning  over  on  his  bed  with  a  groan,  ex- 
claimed, "  Oh,  what  a  country  !"  "  Courage,"  said 
I.  "  Only  think — in  ten  days  you  will  be  inside  the 
walls  of  the  great  city  of  Fez  !" 

He  muttered  something,  of  which  I  could  distin- 
guish only  the  word  "  Moncalieri,"  after  which  I 
respected  his  grief  and  withdrew. 

The  next  tent  was  occupied  by  the  two  sailors, 
Ranni,  the  commander's  orderly,  and  Luigi,  the 
caulker  of  the  Dora,  a  young  Neapolitan,  bright, 


122  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

active,  and  prepossessing,  who  in  the  course  of  two 
days  had  won  every  one's  good-will.  Their  light 
was  still  burning,  and  they  were  hard  at  work  eat- 
ing. Pausing  a  moment,  I  caught  part  of  a  very 
amusing  conversation.  Luigi  was  asking  for  whom 
the  pencil  sketches  the  two  artists  were  making  were 
intended. 

"  The  idea !"  answered  Ranni;  "why,  for  the  king, 
of  course."  "  Just  as  they  are,  without  any  colors  ?" 
inquired  the  other.  "  Oh,  no ;  when  they  get  back  to 
Italy  they  will  color  them  first  and  then  send  them." 

"  Who  knows  how  much  they  will  get  for  them  !" 

"  Oh,  a  great  deal,  Magan  ;  a  crown  for  each  pict- 
ure. A  king  does  not  care  how  much  money  he 
spends." 

Fearing  that  I  might  be  seen  and  suspected  of 
wanting  to  spy,  I  was  most  reluctantly  obliged  to 
forego  the  rest  of  the  conversation,  and  stole  away 
on  tiptoe. 

Issuing  once  more  from  the  camp  inclosure,  I  took 
a  turn  through  the  long  lines  of  horses  and  mules, 
recognizing  among  the  latter,  with  tender  emotion, 
my  white  travelling  companion,  who  was  apparently 
plunged  in  thought,  and  came  next  to  the  tent  of 
Signor  Vincent,  a  French  resident  of  Tangier,  one 
of  those  mysterious  individuals  who  have  travelled 
all  over  the  world,  talk  all  languages,  and  follow  every 
trade — cook,  merchant,  hunter,  interpreter,  deciph- 
erer of  ancient  inscriptions ;  he  had  joined  the  Italian 


HADD-EL-GHAEBIA.  123 

embassy  with  his  tent  and  his  horses  in  the  capacity 
of  head  overseer  of  the  culinary  department  in  order 
to  get  an  opportunity  to  sell  some  French  uniforms 
he  had  purchased  in  Algeria  to  the  Governor  of  Fez. 
Peeping  in  through  a  crack,  I  saw  him  seated  in  an 
attitude  of  profound  meditation  upon  a  chest,  a  big 
pipe  in  his  mouth,  and  the  place  lighted  by  a  candle 
stuck  in  the  neck  of  a  bottle  j  a  strange  figure  that 
reminded  me  of  the  old  alchemists  in  Dutch  paint- 
ings who  sit  in  their  workshops  thinking,  their  faces 
illumined  by  the  fire  in  their  alembics.  Bent,  with- 
ered, bony,  he  looked  as  though  each  turn  of  fortune 
in  his  adventurous  life  had  added  a  wrinkle  to  his 
face,  a  twist  to  his  body.  Who  knows  of  what  he 
may  have  been  thinking !  Who  can  tell  what  surging 
memories  may  have  chased  one  another  through  his 
brain,  of  adventures,  journeys,  strange  encounters, 
mad  undertakings,  and  curious  people  ?  And  yet 
all  the  time  he  may  have  been  entirely  preoccupied 
by  the  price  of  a  pair  of  Turkish  trousers  or  his 
scanty  provision  of  tobacco.  Just  as  I  was  on  the 
point  of  speaking  to  him  he  suddenly  blew  out  the 
light  and  was  swallowed  up  by  the  darkness  like  some 
magician. 

Hard  by  stood  the  tent  of  the  commander  of  the 
escort,  a  little  beyond  it  that  of  his  first  officer,  and 
farther  off  still  that  of  the  chief  of  the  Hadd-el- 
Gharbia  cavalry.  The  last  two  were  closed,  the 
first  open  and  empty,  and  I  was  pausing  to  look  in 


124  HADD-EL-GHARBIA. 

when  I  heard  a  light  step  close  by,  and  at  the  same 
instant  felt  a  grip  of  steel  on  my  arm.  Turning,  I 
found  myself  face  to  face  with  the  mulatto  general. 
As  soon  as  he  saw  who  it  was  he  let  go,  saying,  with 
an  apologetic  laugh,  "  Salamu  alikum !  Salamu  ali- 
Jcum  !"  (Peace  be  with  you !  Peace  be  with  you !) 
He  had  mistaken  me  for  a  thief.  I  shook  hands  with 
him,  by  way  of  acknowledgment,  and  resumed  my 
walk.  After  proceeding  a  little  way  I  saw  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  man  wrapped  in  a  cloak  and  seated, 
gun  in  hand,  at  some  distance  from  the  camp.  I  at 
once  concluded  that  he  must  be  a  sentinel ;  and  sure 
enough,  on  looking  farther,  I  made  out  another  about 
fifty  feet  beyond  the  first,  and  then  a  third,  and  so 
on,  till  they  formed  a  complete  chain  around  the  camp. 
This  vigilance,  as  I  was  well  aware,  was  not  main- 
tained from  dread  of  an  attack  on  the  part  of  any 
band  of  assassins,  but  merely  to  protect  the  tents 
from  the  ordinary  thieves  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, adepts  in  stealing  from  the  encampments  of  the 
Arab  tribes.  Luckily  my  fearless  tread  did  not 
arouse  any  suspicions  in  the  minds  of  the  sentinels, 
and  I  was  able  to  finish  my  excursion  unmolested. 
Passing  close  by  Malek  and  Saladino,  the  two  fiery 
steeds  belonging  to  the  ambassador,  and  stumbling 
over  some  more  tortoises,  I  reached  the  tent  occu- 
pied by  the  foot-servants.  They  were  all  lying  on 
one  small  heap  of  straw,  with  no  covering  over  them, 
one  on  top  of  another,  and  buried  in  such  profound 


HADD-EL-GHAKBIA.  125 

slumber  that  not  even  their  breathing  could  be  heard, 
like  so  many  dead  bodies  piled  up  together.  The 
boy  with  the  big  black  eyes,  for  the  excellent  reason 
that  he  was  the  smallest,  had  been  gradually  pushed 
half  out  of  the  tent,  and  I  came  very  near  treading 
on  his  head.  Feeling  sorry  for  him,  and  wishing 
to  give  him  a  pleasant  surprise,  I  placed  a  piece 
of  money  in  his  outstretched  hand,  which  lay  across 
the  grass  with  the  palm  up,  as  though  asking  an  alms 
of  the  spirit  of  the  night.  A  cheerful  murmur  of 
voices  issuing  from  a  tent  not  far  away  next  attracted 
my  attention.  It  was  the  one  assigned  to  the  ambas- 
sador's servants  and  soldiers,  and  the  inmates  were 
apparently  eating  and  drinking,  as  I  detected  the  odor 
of  kiff,  and  recognized  the  voices  of  the  second 
Selam,  of  Abd-el-Rhaman,  of  Ali,  Hamet,  Maramu, 
and  Civo.  It  was  an  Arab  orgy  in  full  swing  j  and 
indeed  they  had  a  perfect  right  to  allow  themselves 
some  relaxation,  poor  young  fellows,  after  having 
toiled  the  livelong  day  on  foot,  on  horseback,  in  the 
tents,  at  table ;  being  called  in  a  hundred  different 
directions  at  once,  in  a  hundred  different  languages, 
for  a  hundred  different  things ;  so  not  wishing  to  in- 
terrupt their  enjoyment,  I  stole  cautiously  away.  Up 
to  this  moment  my  excursion  had  gone  off  wonder- 
fully well,  but  it  was  destined  not  to  end  without  one 
unfortunate  incident. 

I  had  not  gone  more  than  twenty  feet  beyond  the 
soldiers'  tent  when  I  felt  two  strong  hands  grasp  me 


126  HADD-EL-GHAKBIA. 

by  the  throat,  while  a  voice  choking  with  anger  hissed 
some  threatening  words  in  my  ear.  Wrenching  my- 
self free,  I  faced  about Who  was  it  ?  Why, 

the  painter  of  the  Expulsion  of  the  Duke  of  Athens, 
of  course — my  good  friend  Ussi,  enveloped  like  a 
spectre  in  his  long  white  abbaia,  which  he  brought 
from  Egypt,  just  issuing  forth  to  make  the  same 
round  as  mine,  in  an  opposite  direction.  I  was  now 
in  front  of  the  artists'  tent,  having  concluded  the  cir- 
cle of  the  camp,  my  nocturnal  trip  was  over,  and  I 
dived  once  more  into  my  little  canvas  dwelling. 


TLATA  DE  KAISANA. 


(127) 


TLATA  DE  RAISANA. 


THE  next  morning  we  started  off  before  sunrise  in 
a  thick  fog  that  sent  a  chill  to  one's  bones,  and  hid 
us  from  one  another.  The  escort  cavalry  had  pulled 
their  hoods  down  over  their  eyes,  and  wrapped  up 
their  muskets ;  we  were  all  enveloped  in  cloaks  and 
overcoats ;  it  was  Like  autumn  on  one  of  the  plains 
of  the  Low  Countries.  Behind  me  I  could  only  dis- 
tinguish a  white  turban  and  the  light  blue  cloak  be- 
longing to  the  Kaid,  while  the  rest  of  the  company 
were  nothing  but  indistinct  shadows  fading  away  into 
the  gray  atmosphere.  Sleepiness  and  the  chill 
weather  made  every  one  very  quiet,  and  we  travelled 
in  silence  over  an  uneven  country  overgrown  with 
dwarf  palms,  lentisks,  broom,  wild  fennel,  and  thorns, 
sometimes  riding  close  together  in  a  solid  body,  and 
again  scattering  about  in  little  groups,  according  to 
the  endless  windings  and  twistings  of  the  paths.  The 
sun  appearing  above  the  horizon  shone  for  a  few 
moments  upon  our  left  cheeks  and  then  once  more 
disappeared,  but  at  the  same  instant  the  fog  lifted 
sufficiently  for  us  to  see  something  of  our  surround- 
ings. We  were  passing  through  a  succession  of 
VOL.  L— 9  (129) 


130  TLATA  DE  KAISANA. 

little  green  valleys,  which  we  traversed  almost  with- 
out being  conscious  of  them,  so  gentle  were  the  in- 
clines. The  heights  were  covered  with  aloes  and 
wild  olive-trees  ;  the  latter  attain  here  to  great  size, 
but  are  seldom  cultivated  by  the  natives,  who  use 
the  fruit  of  the  argan,  both  as  an  article  of  food  and 
for  burning-oil.  As  we  left  each  valley  behind  we 
looked  all  about  in  search  of  a  village,  a  group  of 
huts,  a  few  tents,  but  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind 
in  sight.  It  was  like  exploring  a  virgin  country.  Val- 
ley after  valley,  solitude  after  solitude,  succeeded  one 
another  until,  when  we  had  ridden  for  nearly  three 
hours,  we  finally  reached  a  place  where  the  closer 
groups  of  trees,  wider  paths,  and  presence  of  some 
droves  of  cattle  announced  the  vicinity  of  an  inhabited 
region.  One  after  another  a  number  of  members  of 
the  escort  now  set  spur  to  their  horses  and,  rapidly 
passing  us,  disappeared  over  the  brow  of  the  next 
hill ;  others  rode  quickly  off  across  the  country  in 
different  directions  ;  the  remainder  ranged  themselves 
in  order.  In  a  few  moments  we  found  ourselves  at 
the  mouth  of  a  gorge  formed  by  low  hills,  on  whose 
summits  stood  a  few  wretched  thatched  huts ;  some 
Arabs — men  and  women — watched  us  from  behind 
the  bushes.  As  we  entered  the  gorge  the  sun  burst 
forth,  and  when  shortly  afterwards  we  reached  a  point 
where  the  road  made  a  sharp  turn,  almost  at  right 
angles,  we  were  suddenly  confronted  by  an  overpow- 
ering spectacle.  Three  hundred  horsemen,  arrayed 


TLATA  DE  KAISANA.  131 

in  a  thousand  different  hues,  scattered  about  in  mag- 
nificent disorder,  were  dashing  towards  us  at  full 
speed,  and  musket  in  hand,  as  though  advancing  to 
the  assault  of  a  regiment.  It  was  the  escort  of  the 
Province  of  El  Araish,  preceded  by  the  Governor 
and  his  officers,  coming  to  relieve  the  Hadd-el-Ghar- 
bia  escort  at  the  confines  of  the  Province  of  Tangier, 
which  we  had  now  reached.  The  Governor  of  El 
Araish,  an  old  exquisite,  with  a  great  white  beard, 
signed  to  his  men  to  halt,  shook  hands  with  the  am- 
bassador, and  then  turning  once  more  to  the  eager, 
trembling  throng  at  his  back,  made  a  quick,  decided 
gesture,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  unchain  yourselves," 
and  thereupon  began  as  superb  a  Iab-el-bar6d  (Pow- 
der Play)  as  one  could  well  wish  to  see.  They  ad- 
vanced to  the  charge  in  pairs,  in  bands  of  ten  singly, 
from  the  foot  of  the  valley,  from  the  tops  of  the  hills, 
ahead  of  the  caravan,  and  on  either  side  of  it,  in  all 
directions  at  once,  firing  and  shouting  without  cessa- 
tion. In  a  few  minutes  the  gorge  was  filled  with 
smoke  and  the  smell  of  powder,  like  a  battle-field  5 
on  all  sides  were  whirling  horses,  flashing  muskets, 
fluttering  caiks,  flapping  cloaks,  waving  caftans  of 
red,  blue,  yellow,  green,  and  orange  color,  and  the 
glitter  of  swords  and  daggers.  They  passed  us  one 
after  another  like  winged  phantoms,  old  and  young, 
men  of  colossal  stature,  wild,  terrible  figures,  sitting 
erect  upon  their  saddles,  with  heads  thrown  back, 
streaming  hair,  and  guns  held  aloft,  and  as  he  fired 


132  TLATA  DE  BAISANA. 

each  one  uttered  a  savage  cry,  which  the  interpre- 
ters translated  as  follows:  "Woe  to  thee !"  "Ah, 
my  mother!"  "In  the  name  of  God!"  "I  kill 
thee  !"  "  Thou  diest !"  "  I  am  avenged !"  Others 
dedicated  their  shots  to  particular  persons  :  "  To  my 
master!"  "To  my  horse!"  "To  my  dead!"  "To  my 
beloved !"  They  fired  into  the  air,  into  the  ground, 
behind  them,  bending  over,  and  turning  upside  down, 
as  though  they  had  been  strapped  to  their  saddles, 
those  whose  turbans  or  calks  fell  off  in  these  manoeu- 
vres wheeling  about  and  catching  them  up  on  the 
ends  of  their  muskets  on  a  full  run.  Some  spun 
their  guns  around  above  their  heads,  tossed  them  in 
the  air  and  caught  them  again  with  one  hand ;  their 
shouts,  gestures,  and  reckless  bearing  were  like  those 
of  men  frenzied  by  drink,  courting  death  with  fierce 
joy.  Many  of  them  urged  their  steeds  forward  as 
though  seeking  to  expose  their  lives,  and  flew  on  and 
on,  firing  as  they  went,  to  turn  back  at  last  with  the 
pallid  set  gaze  of  men  who  had  faced  death.  From 
most  of  the  horses'  flanks  blood  was  flowing,  and  the 
riders'  feet,  stirrups,  and  the  ends  of  their  cloaks 
were  stained  with  it.  Certain  figures  made  a  vivid 
impression  upon  me  the  moment  my  eyes  fell  upon 
them.  One  was  that  of  a  young  man  with  a  huge 
head  and  shoulders,  and  an  enormous  stomach,  who 
wore  a  red  caftan,  and  uttered  cries  that  might  have 
issued  from  the  breast  of  a  wounded  lion  5  another 
was  a  youth  of  about  fifteen,  a  good-looking  scape- 


TLATA  DE  RAISANA.  133 

grace,  all  in  white,  who  shot  by  me  three  times, 
shouting,  "My  God!  my  God!  my  God!"  Then 
there  was  a  tall,  lean  old  man  with  an  evil-looking 
face,  who  flew  along  with  half-closed  eyes  and  a 
devilish  smile  on  his  lips,  as  though  he  were  carry- 
ing the  plague  on  his  horse's  crupper ;  and  a  negro, 
all  eyes  and  teeth,  with  a  great  scar  across  his  fore- 
head, who  went  by  bounding  furiously  in  his  saddle, 
as  though  struggling  to  free  himself  from  the  grasp 
of  an  invisible  hand.  In  this  manner  they  proceeded, 
always  keeping  abreast  of  the  caravan,  mounting  and 
descending  the  hills,  forming  into  groups,  dissolving 
and  re-forming,  and  again  dispersing  with  every  pos- 
sible combination  of  brilliant  colors  that  could  be 
imagined,  dazzling  the  eye  like  the  flutter  of  myriads 
of  flags.  All  this  crowd  of  persons,  and  hurly- 
burly  of  noise  and  movement,  bursting  into  unex- 
pected life  at  the  appearance  of  the  sun  in  that  nar- 
row gorge,  where  it  could  all  be  embraced  at  a  single 
glance,  as  in  an  amphitheatre,  was  so  overpowering 
that  it  took  our  breath  away,  and  for  some  moments 
no  one  spoke  ;  then  there  was  a  loud  simultaneous  ex- 
clamation of  "  How  beautiful !  beautiful !  beautiful !" 
A  short  distance  beyond  the  opening  of  the  gorge 
the  ambassador  halted,  and  every  one  forthwith  dis- 
mounted to  rest  in  the  shade  of  a  group  of  olives,  the 
El  Araish  escort  continuing  to  manoeuvre  in  front 
of  us,  and  the  baggage  train  proceeding  towards  the 
spot  fixed  upon  for  our  next  camping-ground.  We 


134  TLATA  DE  RAISANA. 

had  arrived  at  the  "  Kubba "  of  Sidi-Liamani ;  in 
Morocco  kubba,  which  signifies  dome,  is  the  name 
given  to  those  small,  square  structures  surmounted 
by  semi-circular  domes  where  saints  are  buried. 
These  Jcubbas,  very  numerous,  especially  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  empire,  are  generally  built  upon 
some  eminence  hard  by  a  spring  and  a  palm-tree, 
and  can  be  seen,  owing  to  their  dazzling  whiteness, 
for  a  long  distance,  thus  serving  as  guides  both  for 
travellers  and  for  the  faithful  who  come  to  visit  them. 
They  are  usually  taken  care  of  by  a  descendant  of 
the  saint — heir  of  his  sanctity  as  well — who  lives  in 
a  small  hut  close  by  the  tomb,  and  subsists  on  the 
alms  of  pilgrims.  The  kubba  of  Sidi-Liamani  stood 
on  a  small  hill  only  a  few  paces  from  where  we  were ; 
some  Arab  peasants  sat  before  the  door,  and  behind 
them  protruded  the  head  of  the  decrepit  old  saint — 
the  present  one — gazing  at  us  with  stupid  wonder. 
In  a  few  minutes  smoke  was  rising  from  the  kitchens, 
and  before  long  we  sat  down  to  luncheon.  An  empty 
sardine  box  thrown  out  by  the  cook  was  picked  up 
by  one  of  the  Arabs,  carried  off  to  the  kubba,  and 
made  the  subject  of  minute  examination  and  much 
animated  conversation.  The  Iab-el-bar6d  finally  ended, 
almost  all  the  men  belonging  to  the  escort  dismounted 
and  scattered  about  in  the  little  valley,  partly  to  allow 
their  horses  to  feed  and  partly  to  rest  themselves,  a 
few  remaining  in  their  saddles  to  keep  watch  from 
the  neighboring  hill-tops.  During  this  interval  I 


TLATA  DE  RAISANA.  135 

wandered  about  with  the  captain,  and,  guided  by 
certain  indications  pointed  out  by  him,  observed  the 
characteristics  of  the  Moroccoan  horses  for  the  first 
time.  They  are  invariably  small,  so  much  so  that 
after  my  eye  had  become  accustomed  to  them  the 
European  horses,  even  those  of  medium  height, 
looked  enormous  to  me  on  first  returning  home. 
They  have  bright,  quick  eyes,  somewhat  flat  fore- 
heads, very  open  nostrils,  and  prominent  cheek-bones ; 
the  head  is  almost  always  beautiful,  the  shin  and 
shank  somewhat  curved,  a  fact  to  which  they  owe 
their  peculiar  elasticity  of  movement.  They  are 
slightly  sway-backed,  falling  away,  as  it  were,  be- 
neath the  saddle,  and  consequently  much  better 
adapted  to  gallop  than  to  trot.  I  do  not,  indeed,  re- 
member ever  to  have  seen  a  horse  in  Morocco  trot. 
When  standing  still  or  walking  the  handsomest  among 
them  do  not  look  well,  but  the  instant  they  break  into 
a  run  they  are  transformed  into  superb-looking  ani- 
mals. Although  they  eat  much  less  than  our  horses, 
and  wear  far  heavier  harness,  they  stand  fatigue 
much  better.  The  manner,  too,  of  riding  differs 
greatly  from  ours.  There  the  stirrups  are  so  short 
that  the  rider's  legs  are  bent  almost  at  right-angles ; 
the  reins  are  very  long,  the  animal  being  guided  by 
loose,  free  movements  of  the  hand  j  the  saddle  rises 
before  and  behind  into  what  are  technically  termed 
by  us  the  pommel  and  the  palette,  but  these  are  so 
high  as  to  hold  the  rider  in  a  close  embrace,  render- 


136  TLATA  DE  RAISANA. 

ing  it  extremely  difficult  for  him  to  lose  his  seat.  He 
usually  wears  small  boots  of  yellow  leather,  without 
heels  or  spurs,  the  stirrups  serving  in  place  of  the 
latter ;  others,  again,  wear  spurs  formed  of  pieces  of 
iron,  pointed  and  shaped  like  a  dagger,  which  they 
attach  to  the  heel  by  means  of  an  iron  ring  and  chain. 

Charming  things  are  recounted  of  the  great  love 
of  the  Arab  for  his  horse,  the  favorite  animal  of  the 
Prophet.  It  is  said  that  he  regards  him  as  a  sacred 
being  |  that  every  morning  at  sunrise  he  places  his 
right  hand  upon  the  animal's  head,  murmuring  bismil- 
Idh  (in  the  name  of  God),  and  then  kisses  his  hand, 
which  he  believes  to  have  been  sanctified  by  the 
touch ;  and  that  he  lavishes  caresses  and  care  of  every 
sort  upon  him.  All  of  this  may  be  true,  but  as  far 
as  I  was  able  to  observe,  this  great  love  does  not  pre- 
vent him  from  tearing  open  his  horse's  flanks  with- 
out any  kind  of  necessity,  or  leaving  him  exposed  to 
the  sun  when  he  might  just  as  well  be  in  the  shade, 
or  leading  him  an  hour's  walk  to  water  with  his  feet 
hobbled,  or  causing  him  to  run  the  risk  of  breaking 
his  legs  a  dozen  times  a  day  for  pure  pastime,  or, 
finally,  from  neglecting  his  harness  in  a  manner  that, 
were  the  most  particular  among  them  to  enter  a  Euro- 
pean cavalry  regiment,  would  send  him  to  the  lock- 
up for  six  months  out  of  the  twelve. 

The  heat  having  become  intense,  we  waited  for 
several  hours  in  the  shade,  but  no  one  succeeded  in 
getting  to  sleep  owing  to  the  insects.  This  was  the 


TLATA  DE  EAISANA.  137 

opening  engagement  of  a  tremendous  warfare,  des- 
tined to  wax  hotter  from  day  to  day  until  the  very 
end  of  the  journey.  No  sooner  had  we  lain  down  on 
the  ground  than  we  were  stuck,  pricked,  and  stung 
as  though  we  had  thrown  ourselves  on  a  bed  of  net- 
tles ;  it  was  not  only  that  there  were  innumerable 
caterpillars,  spiders,  ants,  ox-flies,  and  grasshoppers, 
but  that  these  were  large,  aggressive,  and  obstinate 
to  an  unheard-of  degree.  The  commander,  who  with 
a  view  to  enlivening  the  company  had  taken  the  tone 
of  exaggerating  the  dangers  of  the  road  in  the  most 
extravagant  manner,  assured  us  that  these  insects 
were  microscopic  as  compared  with  those  we  would 
encounter  as  we  approached  Fez  and  after  leaving  it, 
and  that  there  would  probably  be  nothing  left  of  us 
to  return  to  Italy  but  a  few  fragments ;  that  only  our 
nearest  and  dearest  would,  with  difficulty,  be  able  to 
recognize  us.  The  cook  overhearing  this  statement 
gave  a  rather  forced  smile  and  became  very  thoughtful. 
Near  by  was  an  enormous  spider's  web  stretched  on 
some  bushes  like  a  sheet  spread  out  to  dry.  I  can 
hear  the  commander  exclaiming,  "Why,  everything 
in  this  country  is  gigantic,  marvellous,  overpowering; 
the  spider  that  spun  this  web,  for  instance,  must  be 
at  least  the  size  of  a  horse ;"  which  really  did  not  seem 
unreasonable,  but  we  could  not  succeed  in  finding 
him,  all  the  same.  The  only  people  who  were  able 
to  sleep  were  the  Arabs,  most  of  them  lying  out  in 
the  sun  with  processions  of  creatures  marching  up 


138  TLATA  DE  KAISANA. 

their  backs.  The  two  artists  were  trying  to  draw, 
tormented  by  clouds  of  ferocious  flies,  which  extracted 
from  Ussi — two  or  three  at  a  time — all  the  rich  vo- 
cabulary of  Florentine  oaths,  "  fresh,  bold,  the  very 
authority  of  language."  The  heat  having  somewhat 
abated,  the  Hadd-el-Gharbia  escort,  the  American 
consul,  and  the  Vice-Governor  of  Tangier,  who  had 
accompanied  us  thus  far  in  order  to  give  the  ambas- 
sador the  very  last  good  wishes  for  a  safe  journey, 
took  their  leave,  and  we  proceeded  on  our  way,  fol- 
lowed by  the  three  hundred  horsemen  belonging  to 
the  Province  of  El  Araish. 

Vast  rolling  plains,  covered  here  with  wheat,  there 
with  barley,  beyond  with  yellow  stubble,  or  again, 
with  grass  and  flowers ;  a  few  dark-colored  tents ; 
an  occasional  saint's  tomb ;  here  and  there  a  palm  or 
two ;  in  the  course  of  a  mile,  perhaps,  three  or  four 
horsemen,  who  join  the  escort ;  an  immense  solitude, 
an  absolute  calm,  and  torrents  of  sunshine  5  these 
form  the  sum  of  the  entries  I  find  in  my  note-book 
under  the  head  of  the  second  march  on  May  5th. 
After  travelling  three  hours  we  reached  Tlata  de 
Raisana,  where  the  camp  was  pitched.  The  tents, 
placed  in  a  circle  as  usual,  stood  in  a  small,  deep  hol- 
low, covered  so  thickly  with  grass  and  very  tall  flow- 
ers as  almost  to  impede  one  from  walking ;  it  seemed 
as  though  we  were  in  a  great  garden  trench.  The 
beds  and  chests  in  the  tents  were  almost  hidden  under 
daisies,  wild  poppies,  primroses,  crowfoot  and  mal- 


TLATA  DE  BAISANA.  139 

lows  of  all  sizes  and  hues ;  close  by  the  artists'  tent 
rose  two  enormous  aloes,  their  branches  covered  with 
blossoms.  Soon  after  our  arrival  the  Italian  consular 
agent  from  El  Araish  appeared  to  call  upon  the  am- 
bassador— Signer  Guagnino,  an  old  Genoese  merchant, 
who  had  lived  forty  years  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  jeal- 
ously preserving  all  that  time  the  pure  accent  of  the 
language  of  Balilla ;  and  towards  evening  an  Arab 
peasant  turned  up,  no  one  knew  where  from,  to  con- 
sult the  embassy  doctor.  He  was  a  poor  old  man,  bent 
and  lame.  One  of  the  legation  soldiers  conducted  him 
to  Signer  Miguerez's  tent.  The  doctor,  who  speaks 
Arabic,  questioned  him,  and  having  found  out  what 
the  trouble  was,  began  looking  through  his  medicine- 
chest  for  a  certain  drug.  Unable  to  find  what  he  wanted 
he  sent  for  Mohammed  Ducali  and  asked  him  to  write 
on  a  sheet  of  paper  in  Arabic  a  prescription,  which 
the  sick  man  would  find  no  difficulty  in  having  made 
up  when  he  got  back  among  his  own  people,  as  it 
was  a  medicine  much  used  by  them.  While  Ducali 
wrote  the  old  man  murmured  a  prayer.  The  pre- 
scription finished,  the  doctor  handed  it  to  the  patient, 
who,  without  giving  him  time  to  protest,  seized  the 
paper  and  stuffed  it  into  his  mouth  with  both  hands. 
"No  !  no  !"  cried  the  doctor;  "spit  it  out,  spit  it  out!" 
But  it  was  too  late  ;  he  had  chewed  and  swallowed  it 
with  the  avidity  of  a  starving  man,  and  thanking  the 
doctor  was  about  turning  to  go  away.  It  was  with  the 
utmost  difficulty  that  they  could  make  him  under- 


140  TLATA  DE  RAISANA. 

stand  that  the  virtue  of  the  remedy  did  not  consist 
in  the  paper  it  was  written  on  and  persuade  him 
to  take  another  prescription  away  with  him. 

This  incident  will  hardly  cause  surprise  among 
those  who  are  at  all  familiar  with  the  state  of  medical 
science  in  Morocco,  where  the  profession  is  practised 
almost  exclusively  by  quacks,  conjurors  and  saints. 
Bleeding,  the  juice  of  a  few  herbs  and  sarsaparilla  for 
morbo  celtico;  dried  snakes  or  chameleons  for  inter- 
mittent fevers  j  red-hot  irons  applied  to  wounds ;  cer- 
tain verses  from  the  Koran  inscribed  by  the  practi- 
tioner upon  his  patient  or  else  worn  around  the  lat- 
ter's  neck  ;  such  are  the  principal  remedies  in  use 
among  them.  Anatomy  being  a  study  forbidden  by 
the  Mohammedan  religion,  one  may  easily  imagine 
how  far  surgery  has  advanced ;  suffice  it  to  say  that 
the  surgeons  tear  their  patients'  tonsils  out  with  their 
fingers,  and  undertake  to  operate  upon  stone  with  a 
razor  or  the  first  bit  of  metal  they  can  lay  their  hands 
upon.  Amputation  is  viewed  with  horror,  those  few 
Arabs  who  are  attended  by  European  doctors  pre- 
ferring to  die  amid  the  most  frightful  sufferings  rather 
than  submit  to  an  operation  that  would  save  their 
lives.  The  consequence  is,  that  although  it  is  not  un- 
common for  them  to  lose  a  limb,  especially  from  the 
explosion  of  guns,  they  so  rarely  survive  that  one 
hardly  ever  sees  any  one  in  Morocco  going  about  in 
a  mutilated  condition,  the  few  exceptions  being 
usually  those  unfortunate  wretches  whose  hands  have 


TLATA  DE  KAISANA.  141 

been  lopped  off  by  the  executioner's  knife,  and  the 
stump  plunged  into  boiling  pitch,  according  to  cus- 
tom, to  stop  the  bleeding. 

Their  remedies,  violent  as  they  frequently  are,  as, 
for  example,  that  of  the  red-hot  iron,  are  often  at- 
tended with  admirable  results.  They  are  applied 
brutally,  fearlessly,  pitilessly ;  but  whether  from  an 
absence  of  nervous  sensibility  or  owing  to  a  certain 
fortitude  engendered  by  their  fatalistic  beliefs,  these 
people  will  voluntarily  submit  to  the  most  frightful 
pain.  They  bleed  themselves  with  earthenware 
cups  and  enough  heat  to  roast  the  flesh  5  drive  the 
knife  blindly  into  an  abscess,  at  the  risk  of  open- 
ing an  artery ;  draw  live  coals  across  an  ulcerated 
arm  with  a  steady  hand,  blowing  away  the  smoke 
from  their  own  burning  flesh  without  uttering  so 
much  as  a  groan.  The  diseases  most  common  among 
them  are  fevers,  ophthalmia,  scurvy,  elephantiasis, 
dropsy,  and,  most  common  of  all,  syphilis,  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation,  changed,  reap- 
pearing under  new  and  horrible  forms  ;  whole  tribes 
are  afflicted  with  it,  thousands  of  unfortunates  die  of 
it,  and  many  more  would  die  were  it  not  for  the  ex- 
tremely temperate  diet  they  are  forced  to  observe  in 
consequence  of  their  poverty  and  the  nature  of  the 
climate.  Of  European  doctors  there  are  none  ex- 
cept in  the  coast  towns  5  even  in  Fez  there  are  only 
a  few  quacks,  fled  thither  from  Algeria  or  some  Span- 
ish garrison.  When  the  Emperor,  or  one  of  his  min- 


142  TLATA  DE  KAISANA. 

isters,  or  a  wealthy  Moor,  falls  ill,  a  European  physi- 
cian is  summoned,  but  usually  not  until  the  patient 
has  reached  the  very  last  extremity,  the  disease  hav- 
ing sometimes  been  neglected  for  years,  so  that  it  not 
infrequently  happens  that  the  doctor  only  arrives  in 
time  to  be  present  at  the  death-bed.  At  first  they 
have  a  blind  faith  in  the  power  of  European  practi- 
tioners 5  the  sight  of  the  medicines,  the  chemical  prep- 
arations, the  surgical  instruments,  all  combine  to  give 
them  a  very  lofty  idea  of  the  science,  and  they  ex- 
pect the  most  wonderful  results,  taking  the  first  pre- 
scriptions and  following  the  first  directions  with  the 
cheerful  obedience  of  people  certain  of  being  rapidly 
cured ;  but  if  recovery  does  not  immediately  follow 
they  lose  faith  at  once,  break  off  the  treatment,  and 
go  back  to  the  quacks. 

The  evening  passed  without  the  occurrence  of  any 
incident  worthy  of  note,  unless  I  except  my  discovery 
of  a  large  black  scorpion  under  the  pillow  of  my  bed, 
just  as  I  was  about  to  lie  down.  My  alarm  was, 
however,  not  of  long  duration,  for  on  approaching  it 
carefully,  candle  in  hand,  to  make  a  closer  examina- 
tion, I  read  upon  the  animal's  back  the  following  re- 
assuring words :  Cesare  Siseo  fece  addi,  5  Maggio, 
1875. 

At  daybreak  the  next  morning  we  started  in  the 
direction  of  the  city  of  Alcazar.  The  weather  was 
gloomy,  and  the  gorgeous  coloring  of  the  escort  stood 
out  with  marvellous  effect  against  the  gray  sky  and 


TLATA  DE  KAISANA.  143 

deep  green  of  the  plain.     Hamed  Ben  Kasen  Bulia- 
mei,  motionless  upon  a  mound  near  the  camp,  seemed 
to  be  gazing  with  pride  upon  those  fine-looking  horse- 
men who  defiled  in  troops  before  him  ;  silent,  serious, 
their  eyes  fixed  upon  the  horizon,  like  the  advance 
guard  of  an  army  on  the  day  of  battle.     For  a  long 
distance  we  journeyed  on  among  olives  and  lofty 
shrubs ;  then  we  entered  a  vast  plain  all  covered  with 
yellow   and   purple  wild  flowers,  where  the    escort 
broke  up  to  perform  the  lab-el-barod.     This  spectacle, 
witnessed  to-day  in  that  great  open  space,  upon  that 
carpet  of  flowers,  beneath  that  lowering  sky,  was  so 
singularly  beautiful  that  the  ambassador  halted  more 
than  once,  and  made  every  one  else  do  the  same,  in 
order  to  watch  it.     I  hardly  think  that  any  fixed  rule 
can  be  followed  in  the  forming  and  dissolving  of  the 
various  groups  of  riders,  but  that  morning  I  almost 
suspected  that  it  might  be  so.     It  really  seemed  as 
though  every  movement,  every  combination  of  color, 
had  been  carefully  thought  out  beforehand.     Into  the 
middle  of  such  and  such  a  group  of  horsemen  in  blue 
caftans  another  wearing  a  white  one  was  sure  to 
thrust  himself — in  the  midst  of   a  bunch  of  white 
caftans  there  always  appeared,  like  the  sure  stroke 
of  an  artist's  brush,  a  red  one.     Harmonious  colors 
sought  each  other  out,  flowed  together,  mingled  dur- 
ing each  charge,  and  separated  to  form  into  new  com- 
binations.    There  were  three  hundred  men,  and  they 
seemed  to  be  an  army.     We  saw  them  in  all  direc- 


144  TLATA  DE  BAISANA. 

tions,  fluttering  around  us  like  flocks  of  birds;  they 
deafened,  dazzled,  bewitched  us,  and  filled  the  two 
painters  with  despair.  "  Rabble,"  said  Ussi,  "if  I 
only  had  them  in  my  clutches  in  Florence !" 


ALCAZAE  EL  KEBIE. 


VOL.  L— 10  ( 145  ) 


ALCAZAB  EL  KEBIR. 


AT  a  certain  point  on  the  road  the  ambassador 
made  a  sign  to  the  Kaid,  the  escort  halted,  and  we, 
accompanied  by  a  few  soldiers,  turned  a  little  aside 
to  visit  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  bridge.  On  reaching 
the  river-bank  we  paused;  there  was  nothing  of 
what  we  had  come  to  see  save  a  few  rude  fragments 
on  the  opposite  shore.  We  stood,  however,  for  some 
moments,  gazing  alternately  on  these  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  each  one  occupied  with  his  own 
thoughts,  and  truly  the  spot  was  worthy  of  that  mute 
tribute  of  respect.  Two  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
years  before,  on  the  fourth  day  of  August,  those  be- 
flowered  fields  echoed  to  the  thunder  of  fifty  great 
guns  and  the  tramp  of  forty  thousand  horsemen  under 
the  command  of  one  of  the  first  captains  of  Africa 
and  one  of  the  most  youthful,  adventurous  and  un- 
fortunate monarchs  of  Europe.  Down  the  banks  of 
that  river,  dripping  with  blood  and  begging  for 
mercy,  there  fled  a  disordered  throng,  seeking  the 
water  as  a  refuge  from  the  implacable  cimeters  of  the 
Arabs,  Berbers  and  Turks — the  flower  of  Portuguese 
nobility — courtiers,  bishops,  Spanish  soldiers,  the 

(147) 


148  ALCAZAR  EL  KEBIK. 

soldiers  of  William  of  Orange,  Italian,  German  and 
French  adventurers — and  the  Mussulman  cavalry 
that  day  trampled  under  foot  six  thousand  Christian 
corpses.*  We  were  standing  on  the  field  of  the 
memorable  battle  of  Alcazar,  which  threw  Europe 
into  consternation  and  caused  a  cry  of  joy  to  resound 
from  Fez  to  Constantinople.  The  river  is  the  Machas- 
san,  and  at  the  time  of  the  battle  the  Alcazar  road 
crossed  it  by  this  bridge.  Close  by  was  the  encamp- 
ment of  Mulai  Malek,  the  Sultan  of  Morocco,  who 
advanced  from  Alcazar,  while  the  King  of  Portugal 
came  from  the  direction  of  Azila.  The  battle  was 
fought  on  the  two  banks  of  the  river  and  the  surround- 
ing plain.  How  many  thoughts  came  crowding  into 
our  minds  as  we  stood  there !  but,  except  for  the 
ruins  of  the  bridge,  there  was  not  so  much  as  a  stone 
to  recall  the  past.  From  what  direction  did  the  Duke 
de  Biveiro's  cavalry  make  their  first  victorious 
charge  ?  At  what  spot  did  Mulai- Ahmed,  the  Sul- 
tan's brother,  fight  ?  He  who  was  to  be  the  future 
conqueror  of  the  Soudan,  a  captain  in  the  morning, 
not  unsuspected  of  cowardice,  at  night  a  victorious 
king.  At  what  point  on  the  river  did  Mohammed 
the  Black  drown  himself?  that  discrowned  fratricide, 
the  instigator  of  the  war.  In  what  corner  of  the  field 
did  Sebastian  receive  the  shot  and  the  two  sabre  cuts 
that  destroyed  with  him  the  independence  of  Portugal 

*  H.  M.  P.  De  la  Martinigre  states  that  "  the  field  was  strewn 
with  15,000  corpses." — Trans. 


m 


xiro  Fez  to  Constantinople.    T!  :  river  i;-  rh<  Machas- 
iu,  and  at  the  time  of  the  tattit   the  Alcazar  road 

wot 'of  Mulai   Mai- k.   U ••:•    HitJtati   of.  Morocco, 

K!  ; 


:tcJ   "J       "Wur      :  •-.    -;• 

u     At  what  poist  on  the   n 


receive  the  s1 

Natfres  Washing  Clothes  in  a  Rtber 


ALCAZAE  EL  KEBIK.  149 

and  Camoens'  last  hope  ?  And  where  did  the  litter 
stand  in  which  Sultan  Malek,  with  finger  on  lip,  ex- 
pired, surrounded  by  his  officers  ?  As  we  stood  re- 
volving thoughts  like  these  in  our  minds,  the  escort 
remained  watching  us  from  a  distance  as  immovable 
in  the  midst  of  that  famous  plain  as  though  they  had 
been  a  handful  of  Mulai- Ahmed's  famous  cavalry, 
risen  from  the  earth  at  the  sound  of  our  footsteps  5 
and  yet  probably  not  one  of  those  men  knew  that  we 
were  standing  on  the  scene  of  the  "  battle  of  the  three 
kings,"  the  glory  of  their  forefathers,  and  when  we 
all  resumed  our  journey  together  they  kept  on  looking 
all  about  curiously  as  though  trying  to  discover  some 
peculiarity  in  the  grass  or  flowers  to  account  for  our 
interest. 

We  now  crossed  the  Machassan  and  the  "Warur, 
both  small  affluents  to  the  Kus  or  Lukkos,  the  Luxus 
of  the  ancients,  which  flowing  down  from  the  Rif 
Mountains  where  it  has  its  source,  empties  itself  into 
the  Atlantic  at  El  Araish,  and  proceeded  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Alcazar  across  a  series  of  arid  hills,  meeting  in 
the  course  of  every  half-hour  or  so  an  Arab  or  some 
camels.  If  we  keep  on  going,  we  thought  to  our- 
selves, we  will  reach  a  city  some  time.  It  was  three 
days  now  since  we  had  seen  a  house,  and  we  were  all 
beginning  to  feel  that  for  one  day  at  least  we  would 
gladly  be  rid  of  the  monotonous  solitude  of  the  coun- 
try. Alcazar  would,  moreover,  be  the  first  town  of 
the  interior  that  we  had  seen,  and  finally,  we  knew 


150  ALCAZAR  EL  KEBIK. 

that  we  were  expected.  Curiosity  was  rife,  the  escort 
fell  into  line,  and  as  we  advanced  we  too,  without 
quite  knowing  how,  formed  into  two  lines  like  a  troop 
of  cavalry,  the  ambassador  at  the  head  and  the  in- 
terpreters on  either  side.  The  weather  had  cleared 
and  a  spirit  of  joyful  impatience  took  possession  of 
the  entire  caravan.  After  journeying  thus  for  four 
hours  we  reached  a  certain  hill-top  and  found  our- 
selves quite  unexpectedly  gazing  down  upon  Alcazar, 
lying  in  the  plain  below,  surrounded  by  a  girdle  of 
gardens  and  crowned  with  towers,  minarets  and  palm- 
trees,  while  at  the  same  moment  our  ears  were 
saluted  by  a  discharge  of  musketry  and  a  burst  of  in- 
fernal music.  It  was  the  Governor  of  the  city,  who, 
with  his  officers,  a  troop  of  soldiers  and  a  band  of 
music,  was  coming  forth  to  receive  us.  In  a  few 
moments  we  met. 

Ah,  he  who  has  never  beheld  the  band  of  Alcazar, 
those  ten  performers  upon  the  fife  and  horn,  centena- 
rians and  ten-year-old  boys,  one  and  all  mounted  upon 
donkeys  about  the  size  of  large  dogs,  ragged,  half- 
naked,  with  shaven  heads,  mummy  faces  and  the  pose 
of  satyrs,  has  missed  what  seemed  to  me  the  most 
mournfully  comic  sight  under  the  vault  of  heaven. 
While  the  old  Governor  welcomed  the  minister,  the 
soldiers  continued  to  discharge  their  muskets  and  the 
band  to  play.  We  approached  to  within  about  a 
half-mile  of  the  city,  where,  on  an  arid  plain,  the  camp 
was  to  be  pitched ;  the  baud  accompanied  us,  still  per- 


ALCAZAE  EL  KEBIK.  151 

forming.  As  soon  as  it  was  ready,  we  repaired  to  the 
mess-tent,  while  the  escort  went  through  the  usual 
manoauvres,  and  the  band,  drawn  up  before  us,  con- 
tinued to  play  with  ever-increasing  fury.  A  sup- 
plicating gesture  from  the  ambassador  finally  caused 
them  to  stop,  and  then  a  rather  curious  scene  was  en- 
acted. Two  men  presented  themselves  almost  simul- 
taneously on  the  ambassador's  right  and  left,  the  one 
an  Arab,  the  other  a  negro.  The  latter,  who  was 
well  dressed  in  a  white  turban  and  blue  caftan,  placed 
at  the  minister's  feet  a  jug  of  milk,  a  case  of  oranges 
and  a  dish  of  Kuskussu ;  the  Arab,  evidently  a  poor 
man,  and  wearing  the  ordinary  cape,  presented  a 
sheep.  This  done,  there  was  an  interchange  of  fiery 
glances ;  they  were,  it  seemed,  mortal  enemies. 

The  ambassador,  who  knew  of  and  expected  them, 
sent  for  the  interpreter,  seated  himself,  and  opened 
the  inquiry,  they  having  come  to  get  him  to  decide 
their  quarrel.  The  negro  was  a  sort  of  steward  of 
the  old  grand  sherif  Bakali,  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential persons  about  the  court  at  Fez,  and  proprietor 
of  considerable  property  in  the  neighborhood  of  Al- 
cazar. The  Arab  was  a  peasant,  and  a  feud  had  ex- 
isted between  them  for  some  time.  The  negro, 
strong  in  the  protection  afforded  by  his  master,  had 
caused  the  other  to  be  thrown  into  prison  and  fined 
more  than  once  on  charges — which  he  supported  by 
many  witnesses — of  stealing  his  horses,  cattle  and 
merchandise.  The  Arab,  while  constantly  affirming 


152  ALCAZAE  EL  KEBIK. 

his  innocence,  could  find  no  one  brave  enough  to  un- 
dertake his  defence  against  his  powerful  persecutor. 
So  one  fine  morning,  quitting  his  native  village,  he 
betook  himself  to  Tangier,  and  asking  which  of  the 
ambassadors  was  considered  the  most  just  and  gen- 
erous, was  given  the  name  of  the  representative  of 
Italy.  He  thereupon  proceeded  to  sacrifice  a  lamb 
before  the  minister's  door,  by  this  sacred  rite,  which 
no  one  can  refuse  to  regard,  establishing  his  claim  to 
the  protection  and  justice  of  the  legation.  The  am- 
bassador granted  him  a  hearing,  interested  himself  in 
the  matter,  and  through  the  El  Araish  agent  made 
application  to  the  authorities  of  the  city  of  Alcazar ; 
but  unfortunately,  owing  to  the  distance,  the  intrigues 
of  the  negro,  and  the  indifference  of  the  authorities, 
the  poor  Arab  was  no  better  off  than  before,  but 
rather  worse,  as  he  was  made  the  object  of  fresh 
accusations  and  persecutions.  Now  the  presence  of 
the  ambassador  in  person  was  to  cut  the  knot  of  the 
difficulty. 

Each  was  told  to  give  his  own  version  of  the  affair, 
the  interpreter  rapidly  translating  all  the  while. 

Nothing  more  dramatic  could  well  be  imagined 
than  the  contrast  afforded  by  the  figures  and  lan- 
guage of  the  two  men.  The  Arab,  a  sickly,  sad- 
looking  man  of  about  thirty,  pleaded  his  cause  with 
irresistible  passion,  trembling,  shivering,  calling  upon 
God,  striking  the  ground  with  his  clinched  fists,  cov- 
ering his  face  with  his  hands  in  an  attitude  of  utter 


ALCAZAE  EL  KEBIE.  153 

despair,  and  flashing  looks  upon  his  enemy  which  no 
words  can  express.  He  declared  that  the  other  had 
corrupted  the  witnesses  and  intimidated  the  authori- 
ties ;  that  he  had  thrown  him  into  prison  solely  to  ex- 
tort money  from  him,  just  as  he  had  imprisoned  others 
in  order  to  take  possession  of  their  wives  ;  that  he  had 
sworn  to  kill  him;  that  he  was  the  scourge  of  the  coun- 
try, accursed  of  God,  a  veritable  fiend;  and  thereupon 
he  displayed  the  scars  on  his  bare  arms  and  legs 
made  by  the  prison  fetters,  his  voice  meanwhile 
choking  with  agony.  The  negro,  every  feature  of 
whose  face  bore  out  the  truth  of  one  at  least  of  these 
assertions,  listened  without  looking  up,  and  made  his 
reply  to  the  charges  without  a  change  of  expression, 
while  an  almost  imperceptible  smile  lurked  about  the 
corners  of  his  mouth ;  immovable,  impassible,  sinister, 
like  a  statue  of  perfidy. 

The  discussion  continued  for  some  time,  and  ap- 
peared to  be  going  on  indefinitely,  when  the  ambas- 
sador cut  it  short  by  giving  an  order  which  was  ap- 
parently acceptable  to  both  sides.  Summoning  Selam, 
who  appeared  instantly,  his  great  black  eyes  stretched 
to  their  utmost,  he  told  him  to  mount  a  horse  and  ride 
with  all  speed  to  the  Arab's  village,  distant  about  an 
hour  and  a  half,  and  there  obtain  all  possible  infor- 
mation from  the  inhabitants  regarding  the  persons 
and  events  in  question.  The  negro  thought  within 
himself,  "  These  people  are  afraid  of  me ;  either  they 
will  support  what  I  have  said  or  they  will  say  noth- 


154  ALCAZAR  EL  KEBIK. 

ing  at  all."  The  Arab,  on  the  contrary,  thought,  and 
it  seemed  with  more  reason,  that,  interrogated  by  a 
soldier  of  the  ambassador,  they  would  have  sufficient 
courage  to  speak  the  truth.  Selam  flew  off  like  an 
arrow,  and  the  two  disputants  withdrew.  I  did  not 
see  them  again,  but  I  learned  later  that  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  village  having  testified  in  favor  of 
the  Arab  and  against  the  negro,  the  latter,  through 
the  representations  of  the  ambassador,  was  compelled 
to  restore  all  the  money  he  had  extorted  from  his 
victim.  While  this  was  going  on  the  remaining  tents 
had  been  pitched,  the  usual  procession  of  unfortunates 
had  brought  the  customary  mona,  and  some  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Alcazar  had  come  out  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  camp.  As  soon  as  the  heat  had  abated  a 
little  we  all  started  off  on  foot  to  visit  the  city,  pre- 
ceded, flanked  and  followed  by  armed  soldiers.  We 
noticed,  as  we  went  along,  some  distance  off,  and 
standing  between  the  city  and  the  camp,  a  curious- 
looking  building,  all  arches  and  domes,  with  an  in- 
closure  in  the  middle  that  looked  like  a  cemetery. 
They  told  us  that  it  was  one  of  those  zaouias,  now 
fallen  into  ruins,  which  at  the  period  when  Moorish 
civilization  flourished  used  to  contain  libraries,  schools 
of  letters  and  science  hospitals  for  the  poor,  and  inns 
for  the  accommodation  of  travellers,  besides  a  mosque 
and  mortuary  chapel,  being  then,  as  now,  for  the 
most  part  the  property  of  the  religious  orders.  We 
were  now  close  to  the  gates.  The  city  is  surrounded 


ALCAZAK  EL  KEBIE.  155 

by  old  crenelated  walls  ;  near  the  gate  through  which 
we  are  to  enter  rise  the  tombs  of  several  saints,  sur- 
mounted by  green  domes  ;  as  we  pass  in  our  atten- 
tion is  attracted  by  a  noise,  and  on  raising  our  eyes 
we  see,  standing  erect  upon  the  house-tops,  numbers 
of  large  storks,  who  strike  their  beaks  noisily,  as  if 
to  warn  the  inhabitants  of  our  approach.  As  we 
walk  along  some  women  take  refuge  in  the  houses, 
and  the  children  run  away.  The  dwellings  are  small, 
unplastered,  windowless,  separated  by  dark  and  dirty 
lanes.  The  streets  resemble  the  beds  of  mountain 
torrents ;  sometimes  we  come  across  the  carcass  of  a 
dog  or  a  donkey  lying  in  a  corner.  On  we  tramp 
through  manure,  over  rough  stones,  and  into  deep 
holes,  stumbling  and  jumping  at  every  step.  Soon 
the  inhabitants  begin  to  crowd  about  us,  gazing  at 
the  strange  sight  wonderingly,  and  the  soldiers  ex- 
hibit so  much  zeal  in  clearing  the  way  with  their  fists 
and  the  butt-ends  of  their  guns  that  the  ambassador 
is  obliged  to  remonstrate.  A  throng  of  people  go 
before  and  follow  after  us  j  when  any  of  our  party 
halts  suddenly  and  faces  about  they  all  stop,  too, 
some  of  them  running  away  and  others  hiding. 
Sometimes  a  woman  shuts  a  door  in  our  faces,  or  a 
child  gives  a  howl  of  terror  at  sight  of  us,  the  former 
resembling  a  bundle  of  dirty  rags,  the  latter,  as  a 
rule,  entirely  naked.  Boys  of  ten  or  eleven  go  about 
clad  only  in  a  tunic  tied  about  the  waist  with  a  cord. 
Little  by  little  the  crowd  grows  bolder,  looking  with 


156  ALCAZAR  EL  KEBIR. 

marks  of  especial  interest  at  our  boots  and  shoes.  A 
few  boys  even  go  so  far  as  to  touch  the  edge  of  our 
clothing.  At  the  same  time  the  ruling  expression  of 
all  those  faces  is  anything  but  friendly.  A  woman, 
as  she  runs  away,  flings  some  words  at  the  ambassa- 
dor, which  the  interpreter  translates,  "  May  God  de- 
stroy your  race !"  A  young  man  calls  out,  "  God 
grant  us  a  good  day's  victory  over  those  people  !" 
After  while  we  come  to  a  rough,  stony,  open  space, 
where  we  find  difficulty  in  walking  at  all  j  some  hor- 
rible-looking old  women,  almost  entirely  naked,  are 
seated  on  the  ground  with  bundles  of  straw  and 
loaves  of  bread  in  front  of  them,  awaiting  customers. 
We  pass  through  other  streets.  Every  hundred  feet 
we  find  a  large  arched  doorway,  which  at  night  is 
closed.  All  the  houses  are  equally  bare,  cracked 
and  forlorn.  Then  we  visit  the  bazaar ;  it  is  covered 
by  a  roof  made  of  cane  and  tree-branches,  dropping 
to  pieces  in  every  direction.  The  shops  consist  of 
deep  niches,  the  shopkeepers  sitting  in  them  like  so 
many  wax  figures,  while  the  display  of  goods  is  like 
the  trash  boys  collect  to  play  store  with.  People  lie 
about  in  all  the  corners,  sleepy,  wondering,  melan- 
choly j  scabby  children,  old  men,  who  seem  almost  to 
have  lost  the  human  form  j  it  is  like  walking  through 
the  corridors  of  a  hospital.  The  air  is  filled  with 
aromatic  odors ;  not  a  voice  is  heard.  The  crowd, 
which  still  accompanies  us,  is  perfectly  silent,  like  a 
procession  of  ghosts.  Leaving  the  bazaar,  we  meet 


ALCAZAK  EL  KEBIE.  157 

a  Moor  on  horseback,  some  laden  camels,  a  hag  who 
shakes  her  fist  at  the  ambassador,  and  an  old  saint, 
crowned  with  aloes,  who  laughs  in  our  faces.  At  a 
certain  point  we  see  some  men  approaching,  dressed 
in  black,  with  long  hair  and  light-blue  handkerchiefs 
on  their  heads ;  they  salute  us  with  smiling  humility, 
and  their  leader,  a  ceremonious  old  man,  invites  the 
ambassador  to  visit  the  Mella  or  Jews'  quarter,  given 
that  outrageous  name,  which  means  "  salted"  or  "ac- 
cursed" ground,  by  the  Arabs.  The  ambassador 
agreeing,  we  pass  beneath  a  covered  gateway  and 
plunge  into  a  labyrinth  of  narrow  lanes,  more  wretched, 
squalid  and  foul-smelling  even  than  those  of  the  Arab 
town,  winding  between  houses  that  look  like  animals' 
dens,  by  little  open  spaces  resembling  pig-sties,  and 
court-yards  like  open  sewers ;  while  in  every  direction, 
amid  all  this  filth,  beautiful  women  and  children  give 
us  smiling  greeting,  murmuring  Buenos  dias  !  Buenos 
dias!  as  we  pass.  Now  and  then  we  have  actually 
to  hold  our  breath  and  walk  on  tiptoe.  The  ambassa- 
dor waxes  indignant.  (l  How  can  you,"  he  says  to 
the  old  Jew,  "  go  on  living  in  this  dirt  ?"  "  It  is  the 
custom  of  the  country,"  responds  the  other.  "  The 
custom  of  the  country !  You  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  yourselves.  You  claim  the  protection  of  the  lega- 
tions, talk  about  civilization,  and  call  the  Moors 
savages,  while  all  the  time  that  you  have  the  effron- 
tery to  look  down  on  them  you  are  living  far  worse 
than  they !"  The  Jew  merely  bends  his  head  and 


158  ALCAZAE  EL  KEBIE. 

smiles,  as  much  as  to  say,  "What  curious  ideas !" 
As  we  quit  the  Mella  the  crowd  again  surrounds  us. 
The  vice-consul  caresses  a  child  in  passing  $  great 
signs  of  wonder  and  an  approving  murmur ;  the  sol- 
diers are  obliged  to  disperse  the  children,  who  come 
running  up  from  every  direction.  We  walk  rapidly 
down  a  deserted  street,  little  by  little  the  people  are  left 
behind,  until  at  last,  gaining  the  outside  of  the  walls, 
we  find  ourselves  on  a  road  bordered  by  enormous 
Indian  figs  and  lofty  palm-trees,  and  draw  a  great 
breath  of  relief  at  finding  ourselves  once  more  alone. 
Such  is  the  city  of  Alcazar,  usually  called  Alcazar 
el  Kebir,  which  means  the  large  palace.  Tradition 
says  that  it  was  founded  in  the  twelfth  century  by 
that  Abii-Yussuf  Yakub-el-Mansar,  of  the  Almohodes 
dynasty,  who  won  the  battle  of  Alarcos  against  Alonzo 
IX.  of  Castile,  and  erected  the  famous  Tower  of 
Girolda  in  Seville.  The  story  goes  that  as  he  was 
hunting  one  evening  he  lost  his  way,  and  a  fisherman 
taking  him  into  his  hut  for  the  night,  the  grateful 
Caliph  caused  a  palace  and  a  number  of  other  build- 
ings to  be  erected  on  the  spot.  Around  these  the 
city  gradually  grew  up.  At  one  time  it  was  both 
rich  and  flourishing ;  now  the  population  numbers  a 
bare  five  thousand,  including  both  Arabs  and  Jews, 
and  it  is  very  poor,  notwithstanding  the  advantages 
it  enjoys  from  being  situated  on  the  direct  route  over 
which  all  caravans  are  obliged  to  travel  on  their  way 
from  the  North  to  the  South. 


ALCAZAK  EL  KEBIE.  159 

As  we  passed  the  gate  by  which  we  had  entered 
the  town  we  noticed  an  Arab  boy  of  some  ten  or 
twelve  years  walking  slowly  along,  his  legs  very  stiff 
and  wide  apart,  who  swayed  about  in  a  curious  man- 
ner. Some  other  boys  were  following  him.  We 
stopped,  and  as  he  approached  we  saw  that  a  heavy 
piece  of  iron,  about  eight  inches  long,  was  fastened 
to  his  legs  by  means  of  a  couple  of  rings  passed 
around  his  ankles.  He  was  a  lank,  dirty  boy,  with 
a  disagreeable  face.  The  ambassador  began  ques- 
tioning him  through  the  interpreter. 

"  Who  put  that  iron  on  you  ?" 

"  My  father,"  answered  the  boy  roughly. 

"Why  did  he  do  it?" 

"  Because  I  will  not  learn  to  read." 

We  were  all  inclined  to  doubt  this  statement,  but 
an  Arab  who  was  standing  by  declared  that  it  was 
so. 

"  And  how  long  have  you  worn  it  ?" 

"  For  three  years,"  he  answered,  smiling  bitterly. 

This  we  thought  must  be  a  lie,  but  again  the  Arab 
confirmed  what  he  had  said,  adding  that  the  boy  slept 
with  the  iron  on,  and  that  all  Alcazar  knew  about  it. 
Then  the  ambassador,  moved  to  compassion,  made 
him  a  little  speech,  exhorting  him  to  study,  to  rid 
himself  of  the  shame  of  that  thing,  and  not  to  disgrace 
his  family  in  that  fashion,  and  finally,  when  the  in- 
terpreter had  finished  translating  it,  told  him  to  ask 
the  boy  if  he  had  any  answer  to  make. 


160  ALCAZAK  EL  KEBIR. 

"  I  have  this  answer  to  make,"  he  replied,  "  that 
if  I  have  to  wear  this  iron  for  the  rest  of  my  life  I 
will  never  learn  to  read,  and  that  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  let  them  kill  me  rather  than  learn  to  read." 

The  ambassador  regarded  him  attentively,  the  boy 
undergoing  the  examination  imperturbably. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  ambassador  at  length, 
turning  towards  us,  "  our  mission  is  concluded,"  and 
so  saying  led  the  way  to  the  camp,  the  boy  re-enter- 
ing the  town  with  his  instrument  of  torture. 

"  In  a  few  years,"  said  one  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
guard,  "  that  head  will  be  seen  dangling  over  one  of 
the  gateways  of  Alcazar." 


BEtf-AOUDA. 


VOL.  L— 11 


(161) 


BEN-AOUDA. 


AT  sunrise  the  next  morning  we  crossed  the  river 
Kus,  on  whose  right  bank  the  city  of  Alcazar  is  situ- 
ated, and  once  more  proceeded  across  rolling,  flower- 
besprinkled,  deserted  plains,  whose  confines  stretched 
beyond  our  vision.  The  escort  had  broken  up  into 
small  bands,  each  of  which  resembled  a  sultan's 
retinue,  and  was  scattered  over  a  wide  circuit.  The 
two  artists  galloped  hither  and  thither,  pencil  and 
sketch-book  in  hand,  making  drawings  of  horses  and 
riders.  The  other  members  of  the  embassy  rode 
along  talking  about  the  invasion  of  the  Goths,  trade, 
scorpions,  philosophy,  eagerly  listened  to  by  the  party 
of  mounted  servants  who  followed  close  behind.  Civo 
paid  particular  attention  to  the  discourses  on  philoso- 
phy, while  Hamed,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  deeply 
interested  in  an  account  his  master,  Patxot,  was  giv- 
ing of  a  bear  hunt  in  which  he  had  come  near  losing 
his  life.  This  man  Hamed  was,  after  Selam,  the  most 
remarkable  of  the  entire  lot  of  soldiers,  servants  and 
grooms.  He  was  an  Arab,  about  thirty  years  of  age, 
very  tall,  dark,  muscular,  strong  as  a  bull,  with 
smooth  face,  mild  eyes,  a  sweet  smile,  a  gentle  voice, 

(163) 


164  BEN-AOUDA. 

and  an  airy  grace  of  movement  that  contrasted 
strangely  with  his  powerful  frame.  He  wore  a  big 
white  turban,  blue  jacket  and  zuaves ;  talked  Span- 
ish, and  was  so  clever  at  knowing  just  how  to  do 
everything  and  please  everyone  that  even  Selam,  the 
glorious  Selam,  was  inclined  to  be  the  least  bit  jealous 
of  him.  They  were  all,  in  fact,  good-looking,  cheer- 
ful, attentive  young  fellows,  and  so  eagerly  solicitous 
for  our  comfort  that  if  one  of  us  in  riding  along  hap- 
pened to  look  back  he  straightway  encountered  two 
rows  of  black  eyes  fixed  inquiringly  upon  him, 
anxious  to  know  if  he  wanted  anything.  "  What  a 
pity,"  said  I  to  myself,  "  that  we  cannot  be  attacked 
by  thieves,  so  as  to  put  all  this  devotion  to  the  proof." 
After  proceeding  thus  for  about  two  hours  we  began 
to  meet  people.  First  there  came  a  negro  on  horse- 
back, holding  in  his  hand  one  of  those  little  sticks, 
covered  with  Arabic  inscriptions,  called  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country  Tierrez,  which  travellers  are  wont 
to  obtain  from  members  of  the  religious  orders  as 
talismans  against  robbers  and  sickness.  Next  came 
some  ragged  old  women,  carrying  big  bundles  of 
wood  on  their  backs.  Oh,  the  power  of  fanaticism ! 
Bowed  and  bent  as  they  were,  exhausted  and  panting, 
they  still  had  sufficient  strength  left  to  fling  a  curse 
at  us  in  passing.  One  muttered,  "  May  the  curse  of 
God  rest  upon  these  unbelievers  !"  The  other,  "  God 
preserve  us  from  evil  spirits  !"  Another  hour  went 
by  without  our  meeting  anyone,  and  then  we  came 


BEN-AOUDA.  165 

upon  a  courier  on  foot,  a  poor,  lean-looking  Arab, 
with  a  leather  bag  hung  around  his  neck  containing 
the  mail.  He  paused  on  reaching  us  to  say  that  he 
was  on  his  way  from  Fez  to  Tangier.  The  ambas- 
sador thereupon  handed  him  a  letter  for  the  latter 
place,  and  he  hurried  on  at  a  rapid  pace.  This  was 
none  other  than  a  member  of  the  Moroccoan  Postal 
Service,  than  which  no  body  of  men  in  existence  lead 
more  arduous  lives.  They  eat  nothing  on  their  jour- 
neys save  a  little  bread  and  some  handfuls  of  figs, 
stop  only  for  a  few  hours'  rest  at  night,  when  they 
sleep  with  the  end  of  a  burning  cord  tied  to  one  foot 
to  ensure  their  awakening  at  the  proper  time.  They 
travel  an  entire  day  without  seeing  a  tree  or  a  drop 
of  water,  traverse  forests  infested  by  wild  boars,  climb 
mountains  inaccessible  for  mules,  swim  rivers,  walk, 
run,  roll  down  steep  inclines,  drag  themselves  up 
lofty  cliffs  on  all-fours,  under  the  burning  August  sun, 
through  the  interminable  rains  of  autumn,  against 
the  choking  wind  of  the  desert,  going  from  Tangier 
to  Fez  in  four  days,  and  from  Tangier  to  Morocco  in 
a  week — travelling  from  one  extremity  of  the  empire 
to  the  other  barefooted,  half-naked,  only  when  they 
reach  their  journey's  end  to  turn  around  and  go  back 
again,  and  receiving  by  way  of  recompense  a  few 
miserable  francs.  About  half-way  between  Alcazar 
and  the  spot  whither  we  were  bound  the  ground  be- 
gan to  rise  almost  imperceptibly,  so  that  before  we 
knew  it  we  had  reached  an  eminence  from  which  an 


166  BEN-AOUDA. 

extensive  view  could  be  obtained  of  another  vast 
plain  stretching  away  before  us,  and  covered  with 
great  patches  of  yellow,  red  and  white  wild  flowers, 
something  like  huge  beds  of  snow  streaked  with 
crimson  and  gold.  Across  this  plain  there  advanced 
to  meet  us  two  hundred  horsemen  on  a  gallop,  their 
muskets  held  erect  on  their  saddles,  preceded  by  a 
personage  dressed  entirely  in  white,  whom  Moham- 
med Ducali  recognized  at  once,  and  announced  aloud 
as  the  Governor  Ben-Aouda !  We  had  reached  the 
border-line  of  the  Province  of  Seifian  called  Ben- 
Aouda,  after  the  family  name  of  the  Governor,  signi- 
fying "  son  of  the  mare/'  that  name  which  had  so 
impressed  me  on  hearing  it  in  Tangier.  We  de- 
scended into  the  plain,  the  two  hundred  horsemen 
drew  up  in  single  file  beside  the  three  hundred  of  El 
Araish,  and  Governor  Ben-Aouda  presented  himself 
to  the  ambassador.  Never,  if  I  live  to  be  a  hundred, 
will  I  forget  that  countenance.  He  was  a  dried-up 
old  man,  with  a  fierce  eye,  hooked  nose,  and  a  mouth 
almost  without  lips,  shaped  in  a  semicircle,  with  the 
points  turned  down.  Consciousness  of  power,  super- 
stition, lust,  faff,  sloth  and  an  utter  weariness  of 
everything  in  the  world  were  stamped  upon  his 
features.  A  large  white  turban  concealed  his  fore- 
head and  ears,  and  at  his  side  hung  a  curved  dagger. 
The  ambassador  took  leave  of  the  chief  of  the  El 
Araish  escort,  who  at  once  departed  with  his  men  on 
a  gallop,  and  we  resumed  our  journey  under  the 


m. 


personage  dressed  entirely  in  white,  whom  M 
ined  Dueali  recognized  at  f«nce,  ana  announced 

>'   of  the  Governor. 


il:;1  . 

turned  down.     Consciou: 
i,  lust,  %i/,  sloth    and  a- 

.;  in  the  wor  ; 

At**-. 


Garden  in  ^Morocco 


BEN-AOUDA.  167 

guardianship  of  the  Seffian  escort,  with  the  usual 
accompaniment  of  manoeuvres  and  the  discharge  of 
fire-arms.  The  skin  of  our  new  friends  was  darker, 
their  dress  more  variegated,  their  horses  handsomer, 
their  cries  wilder,  and  their  charges  directed  with 
more  savage  impetuosity  than  anything  we  had  met 
with  heretofore.  The  farther  we  advanced  the  more 
did  everything  take  on  a  more  distinctively  Moroccoan 
color  and  form.  Conspicuous  in  all  that  moving- 
throng  were  twelve  horsemen  dressed  with  princely 
magnificence,  and  mounted  upon  superb  animals,  who 
attracted  our  attention  from  the  first  moment,  espe- 
cially as  they  seemed  to  be  objects  of  admiration 
among  their  companions  as  well.  Five  of  them, 
young  men  of  colossal  stature,  appeared  to  be  broth- 
ers |  they  had  pallid  complexions,  and  big  black  eyes 
which  flashed  beneath  their  huge  turbans  ;  again  and 
again  they  dashed  close  by  us  with  loosened  reins 
and  heads  thrown  back  over  their  shoulders,  in  an 
attitude  of  haughty  disdain.  How  natural  and  ap- 
propriate it  would  have  seemed  had  those  ten  sinewy 
arms  clasped  to  the  crimson  saddles  five  odalisques 
stolen  from  a  Sultan's  harem.  u  Superb  !"  we  cried. 
"Wonderful!  Magnificent!"  and  they  acknowledged 
our  applause  by  spurring  forward  with  loud  cries, 
until  they  disappeared  in  a  cloud  of  smoke,  twirling 
their  long,  gold-inlaid  muskets  above  their  heads  in  a 
perfect  fury  of  triumphant  excitement.  These  were 
Ben-Aouda's  five  sons,  and  the  remaining  seven  were 


168  BEN-AOUDA. 

his  nephews.  The  Idb-el-barod  lasted  for  more  than  an 
hour,  at  the  end  of  which  we  had  reached  a  garden 
belonging  to  the  Governor,  where  we  dismounted  to 
rest.  It  was  a  grove  of  lemon  and  orange-trees, 
planted  in  parallel  lines,  and  so  close  together  as  to 
form  a  thick  roof  of  foliage,  beneath  which  we  en- 
joyed the  most  delicious  shade  and  coolness,  and  the 
perfumes  of  Paradise.  In  a  few  moments  this  charm- 
ing oasis  was  invaded  by  and  filled  with  horses,  mules, 
kitchen-fires,  busy  servants  and  sleepy  soldiers.  The 
Governor  dismounted  with  us  and  introduced  his  sons. 
I  take  my  oath  that  had  I  seen  the  five  odalisques 
clinging  to  them  at  that  moment  I  would  not  have 
had  the  face  even  to  envy  them,  so  handsome  were 
they,  so  stately,  so  charming.  One  after  another 
they  shook  hands  with  us,  making  at  the  same  time  a 
slight  inclination  and  dropping  their  smiling  eyes  in 
a  sort  of  childish  embarrassment.  Immediately  after- 
wards they  asked  to  see  the  doctor.  Signor  Miguerez 
came  forward  and  inquired  what  they  wanted,  and 
thereupon,  before  us  all,  without  uttering  a  word  and 
almost  simultaneously,  they  bared  their  left  arms. 

Oh,  my  poor  odalisques  !  Every  one  of  them  was 
affected  from  shoulder  to  wrist  with  a  horrible  syph- 
ilitic disease.  "  Hereditary,"  observed  one  of  them, 
and  the  father  repeated  coldly,  "  Hereditary." 

"And  there  are  sulphur  springs  close  by!"  ex- 
claimed the  doctor,  "  where  they  could  easily  have 
been  cured ;  but  oh,  no,  gentlemen,  they  must  fool 


BEN-AOUDA.  169 

away  their  time  and  health  with  verses  from  the 
Koran  and  amulets  prepared  by  quacks  !"  He  gave 
them  some  medicine,  they  re-covered  their  arms,  and 
walked  thoughtfully  away.  A  little  later  we  seated 
ourselves  upon  a  beautiful  Rabat  rug  in  the  centre  of 
the  garden,  and  luncheon  was  served.  Governor 
Ben-Aouda,  seated  upon  another  rug  some  twenty 
feet  away,  had  his  own  repast  served  at  the  same 
time,  waited  upon  by  a  number  of  his  slaves.  An 
amusing  interchange  of  courtesies  between  him  and 
the  ambassador  now  took  place.  First  Ben-Aouda 
sent  over  a  jug  of  milk,  and  the  ambassador  returned 
the  attention  with  a  beefsteak ;  next  came  some  but- 
ter, which  was  responded  to  with  fritters ;  the  butter 
was  followed  by  a  sweet  dish,  and  the  fritters  by  a 
box  of  sardines ;  each  gift  being  dispatched  and  re- 
ceived with  coldly  ceremonious  gestures,  hands  laid 
upon  the  breast,  and  eyes  cast  up  to  heaven  with  the 
most  comical  expression  of  gastronomic  bliss.  The 
sweet  dish,  by  way  of  parenthesis,  was  a  sort  of  pud- 
ding made  of  honey,  eggs,  butter  and  sugar,  of 
which  the  Arabs  are  extravagantly  fond,  and  about 
which  they  have  a  singular  superstition  :  if  while  the 
woman  is  in  the  act  of  cooking  it  a  man  should  hap- 
pen to  enter  the  room,  the  pudding  goes  wrong,  and 
even  if  it  is  fit  to  eat  it  is  unsafe  to  do  so. 

"And  how  about  wine  ?"  asked  some  one;  "is  no 
wine  to  be  offered  him  V '  Whereupon  a  discussion 
arose ;  we  were  assured  that  Ben-Aouda  was  secretly 


170  BEN-AOUDA. 

much  addicted  to  the  juice  of  the  vine,  but  how  could 
he  possibly  drink  wine  in  the  presence  of  his  soldiers? 
Finally  it  was  decided  not  to  send  him  any ;  but  it 
seemed  to  me  that  he  cast  very  sweet  looks  in  the 
direction  of  our  bottles — much  sweeter,  in  fact,  than 
those  directed  towards  ourselves.  During  the  entire 
time,  indeed,  that  he  sat  there  on  his  rug  his  features 
wore  such  an  evil  expression  of  frowning  and  haughty 
disdain  that  I  longed  to  have  our  forty  battalions  of 
Bersaglieri  there  and  under  my  orders  for  just  a  lit- 
tle while,  so  that  I  could  make  them  defile  under  his 
very  nose. 

During  the  repast  Mohammed  Ducali  told  me  a 
rather  striking  incident  connected  with  the  personal 
history  of  the  Ben-Aouda  family — in  whose  hands  it 
seems  the  governorship  of  the  Seffian  district  has 
been  from  very  ancient  times.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  part  of  the  country  are  famed  for  their  bravery, 
as  well  as  for  their  turbulent  dispositions,  and  are  said 
to  have  given  splendid  proof  of  their  courage  in  the 
recent  war  with  Spain,  in  which,  at  the  battle  of 
Vad-Rason,  on  the  23d  of  March,  1861,  Sidi- Absalom- 
ben- Abd-el-Krim  Ben-Aouda,  Governor  of  the  entire 
Province  of  Garb,  lost  his  life.  He  was  succeeded 
by  his  eldest  son,  Sidi- Abd-el-Krim,  a  violent,  disso- 
lute man,  who  ground  his  people  down  with  taxes,  and 
persecuted  them  to  gratify  his  ferocious  caprices. 
One  fine  day  he  suggested  to  a  certain  Gileli  Ruqui 
that  he  should  give  him  a  large  sum  of  money  ;  the 


BEN-AOUDA.  171 

man  excused  himself  on  the  ground  that  he  was  too 
poor.  Upon  which  the  Governor  loaded  him  with 
chains  and  threw  him  into  prison.  The  relatives  and 
friends  of  Gileli  then  sold  all  their  possessions,  made 
up  the  required  amount,  and  brought  it  to  Sidi-Abd- 
el-Krim,  who  forthwith  liberated  the  prisoner.  No 
sooner,  however,  did  he  find  himself  free  than  Gileli 
assembled  his  family  and  friends  together,  and  they 
bound  themselves  with  a  solemn  oath  to  kill  the  Gov- 
ernor. The  residence  of  Ben-Aouda  stood  at  about 
two  hours  distance,  by  the  road,  from  the  garden 
where  we  were  sitting.  The  conspirators  attacked 
it  suddenly  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  in  overpower- 
ing numbers,  killed  the  sentinels,  and  pouring  into 
the  house  slew  Sidi-Abd-el-Krim,  his  wives,  his  chil- 
dren, his  slaves  and  his  servants  with  their  daggers, 
and  after  destroying  all  they  could  lay  hands  on,  and 
setting  fire  to  the  house,  spread  themselves  over  the 
surrounding  country,  raising  the  cry  of  revolt.  The 
relatives  and  allies  of  the  Ben-Aoudas  assembled 
their  forces  in  hot  haste  and  marched  upon  the  rebels, 
who  repulsed  them,  and  the  rebellion  spread  over  the 
entire  Province  of  Garb  j  but  the  Sultan  sending  an 
army  to  the  scene  of  the  revolt,  it  was,  after  a  san- 
guinary struggle,  suppressed — the  heads  of  the  ring- 
leaders adorned  the  walls  of  Fez  and  of  Morocco,  the 
district  of  Beni-Malek  was  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  province,  the  Governor's  house  rebuilt,  and  Sidi- 
Mohammed  Ben-Aouda,  brother  of  the  murdered  man, 


172  BEN-AOUDA. 

and  host  of  the  Italian  embassy,  assumed  the  govern' 
ment  of  the  district  of  his  fathers.  A  passing  tri- 
umph of  desperation  over  tyranny,  followed  by  a 
tyranny  still  more  oppressive.  Thus  may  the  his- 
tory of  each  individual  province  be  summed  up,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  entire  Empire.  And  who  knows 
but  that  at  that  very  moment  a  Ruqui  had  already 
been  predestined  for  Sidi-Mohammed  Ben-Aouda 
himself. 

Before  sunset  we  had  reached  the  camp,  pitched 
not  a  very  long  distance  beyond  the  garden,  in  a 
solitary  plain  at  the  foot  of  a  small  hill,  upon  whose 
summit  stood  a  kubba  and  a  palm-tree.  The  ambas- 
sador had  hardly  arrived  when  the  mona  was  brought 
and  placed  as  usual  before  his  tent,  and  the  distribu- 
tion took  place  in  the  presence  of  the  intendant,  the 
Kaid,  and  the  soldiers  and  servants.  While  every- 
one's attention  was  absorbed  in  this  manner  I  hap- 
pened to  glance  towards  the  kubba  and  saw  a  tall, 
strange-looking  man  coming  down  the  incline  with 
long  strides  in  the  direction  of  the  camp.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  about  it,  it  was  the  hermit,  the 
"  saint,"  descending  upon  us  to  make  a  scene.  I  did 
not  say  a  word,  but  waited  to  see  what  would  happen. 
Instead  of  entering  the  camp  at  once  he  made  a  cir- 
cuit around  the  outside,  in  order  to  appear  suddenly 
in  front  of  the  ambassador's  tent.  I  could  see  him 
stealing  nearer  and  nearer  on  tiptoe,  a  ghastly  object, 
covered  with  black  rags,  who  inspired  both  fear  and 


BEN-AOUDA.  173 

disgust.  All  at  once  he  quickened  his  pace,  dashed 
into  our  midst,  and,  recognizing  the  ambassador  at  a 
glance,  flung  himself  against  him,  at  the  same  time 
howling  like  a  maniac ;  but  he  hardly  had  time  to  do 
this  before  the  Kaid  seized  him  by  the  throat  and 
threw  him  in  among  the  soldiers,  who  promptly  dragged 
him  out  of  the  camp,  stifling  his  piercing  cries  in  their 
cloaks.  Signor  Morteo  hastened  to  translate  for  our 
benefit  the  poor  wretch's  invectives.  (e  Death  to  all 
these  dogs  of  Christians  who  go  to  see  the  Sultan  and 
do  just  as  they  like,  while  we  are  dying  of  hunger !" 
Not  long  after  the  presentation  of  the  obligatory 
mono,  there  arrived  at  the  camp  a  party  of  a  hundred 
or  more  Arab  and  negro  servants,  marching  in  single 
file,  and  bearing  great  round  boxes  covered  with 
lofty,  conical  straw  tops,  filled  with  eggs,  chicken 
already  cooked,  puddings,  pastry,  roasts,  kuskussu, 
salad  and  sweetmeats,  enough  provision  in  all  to  feed 
a  starving  tribe.  It  was  a  second  mona,  voluntary 
this  time,  an  offering  made  to  the  ambassador  by 
Sidi-Mohammed  Ben-Aouda,  possibly  to  atone  for  his 
black  looks  of  the  morning.  No  sooner  had  the 
dishes  been  placed  on  the  ground  than  the  Governor 
and  his  five  sons  appeared  on  horseback,  accompanied 
by  a  troop  of  servants.  The  ambassador  received 
them  in  his  tent,  and  conversed  with  them  by  means 
of  an  interpreter.  What  a  conversation  !  and  what 
people  they  were !  The  ambassador  asked  one  of 
the  sons  if  he  had  ever  heard  of  Italy,  and  he  replied 


174  BEN-AOUDA. 

that  he  had  heard  it  spoken  of  several  times.  One  of 
them  wanted  to  know  which  was  farthest  from  Mo- 
rocco, England  or  Italy.  They  asked  how  many 
guns  we  had,  the  name  of  our  capital  city,  and  how 
our  king  was  dressed.  As  they  talked  they  all  six 
observed  with  great  attention  the  knots  of  our  cravats 
and  our  watch-chains.  The  ambassador  put  several 
questions  to  the  Governor  regarding  the  extent  and 
population  of  his  district,  but  he  either  could  not  an- 
swer or  was,  as  usual,  afraid  of  some  hidden,  mysteri- 
ous object  in  the  question  ;  at  all  events  it  was  impos- 
sible to  drag  a  satisfactory  reply  out  of  him. 

"The  population?"  I  recollect  his  saying.  "Oh,  I 
could  not  tell  you  the  exact  number." 

"  Well,  then,  about,"  urged  the  ambassador. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  say  even  about  what  it  numbers," 
said  he,  and  then  proceeded  to  put  some  more  ques- 
tions of  his  own.  Had  we  liked  the  city  of  Alcazar  ? 
What  did  we  think  of  the  country  ?  Did  we  not 
consider  the  water  very  good  ?  Would  we  like  to 
live  in  Morocco  ?  Why  had  we  not  brought  our 
wives  ?  How  many  soldiers  had  the  captain  in  his 
command  ?  How  large  was  the  commander's  ship  ? 
While  this  conversation  was  going  on  tea  was  drunk, 
and  finally,  with  many  bows,  handshakings  and  good 
wishes,  they  mounted,  put  spurs  to  their  horses,  and 
presently  disappeared.  I  use  "  disappear "  each 
time  purposely,  instead  of  "went  away,"  just  as  I  say 
"appear"  instead  of  "came,"  because,  as  we  never  saw 


BEN-AOUDA.  175 

any  houses  or  villages  in  any  direction,  everyone  who 
came  and  went  seemed  to  rise  up  out  of  the  ground 
and  vanish  away  into  air. 

Like  every  other  day  this  one,  too,  ended  in  a  calm 
and  magnificent  sunset  and  a  cheerful  and  noisy  din- 
ner, but  the  night  proved  to  be  one  of  the  liveliest  of 
the  journey.  Perhaps  because  being  in  the  Seffian 
territory  made  it  necessary  to  guard  the  camp  with 
unusual  vigilance,  the  sentinels  kept  each  other  awake 
by  chanting  verses  from  the  Koran  every  quarter  of 
an  hour.  One  would  intone  the  prayer  and  the  others 
all  respond  in  chorus,  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  to  an 
accompaniment  of  neighing  horses  and  barking  dogs. 
We  had  just  fallen  into  our  first  sleep  when  we  were 
aroused  by  this  exercise,  and  did  not  succeed  in  clos- 
ing our  eyes  again.  Shortly  after  midnight  a  new 
feature  was  added.  One  of  the  short  intervals  of 
silence  was  suddenly  broken  in  upon  by  wild  cries 
from  the  open  country,  which  continued  until  day- 
break, sometimes  close  at  hand,  then  faintly  heard  at 
a  distance,  then  nearby  again  5  tones  of  menace,  of 
sorrow,  of  despair,  breaking  forth  now  and  again 
into  shrill  wails  and  bursts  of  crazy  laughter,  that 
made  our  blood  run  cold.  It  was  the  saint  wander- 
ing about  the  outskirts  of  the  camp  and  calling  down 
curses  from  Heaven  upon  us.  In  the  morning  when 
we  came  out  of  our  tents  he  was  still  there,  standing 
erect  like  a  spectre  before  his  lonely  Jcubba,  tinged 
with  red  by  the  rising  sun,  continuing  to  curse  us  in 


176  BEN-AOUDA. 

a  hoarse,  spent  voice,  and  feebly  waving  his  arms 
above  his  head. 

I  looked  up  the  cook,  intending  to  ask  his  opinion 
concerning  this  personage,  but  I  found  him  so  im- 
mersed that  I  had  not  the  heart  to  poke  fun  at  him. 
He  was  making  the  coffee,  surrounded  by  an  im- 
patient throng  who  fairly  took  his  breath  away.  The 
scullions  were  talking  Arabic  at  him,  Ranni,  Sicilian ; 
the  caulker,  Neapolitan;  Hamed,  Spanish j  Signer 
Vincent,  French.  "  But  I  do  not  understand  a  sin- 
gle word  of  all  your  gibberish  !"  he  shouted  desper- 
ately. "  This  is  worse  than  Babel !  Will  you  let  me 
breathe  ?  or  do  you  want  to  kill  me  ?  Oh,  poor  me, 
what  a  country !  what  a  country  !  Every  one  of 
them  talking  like  mad,  and  not  one  who  can  make 
himself  understood !" 

As  soon  as  he  had  recovered  somewhat  I  pointed 
to  the  saint,  who  was  still  howling  away  on  top  of  the 
hill.  "  Well,"  I  said,  "  what  do  you  think  of  those  in- 
sults ?"  He  raised  his  eyes  to  the  Tvutiba,  regarded  the 
saint  fixedly  for  a  moment,  and  then,  with  a  gesture 
of  supreme  disdain,  replied  in  his  strong  Piedmontese 
accent,  "  I  look  and  pass  on,"  and  so  saying  stalked 
majestically  into  his  tent. 


KAEITA  EL-HABASSI. 


VOL.  L— 12  ( 177  ) 


KAKITA  EL-HABASSI. 


THE  camp  was  dismantled,  and  we  resumed  our 
journey  in  the  usual  order  and  amid  the  usual  noisy 
shouts  and  discharge  of  fire-arms  of  the  escort — the 
two  hundred  horsemen  of  Ben-Aouda.  In  two  hours 
we  had  reached  the  small  stream  that  marks  the 
limits  of  the  Seffian  district,  and  just  as  the  standard- 
bearer  turned  to  pronounce  the  words  "  Here  is  the 
river,"  there  suddenly  started  into  view  from  behind 
a  piece  of  rising  ground  on  the  opposite  shore  a  large 
crowd  of  horsemen,  among  whom  we  were  immedi- 
ately struck  by  the  graceful  and  elegant  figure  of  the 
Governor,  Bu-Bekr-ben-el-Habassi,  whose  district 
lies  between  the  Seifian  territory  and  the  great  Sebu 
river.  The  Ben-Aouda  escort  turned  about  and 
quickly  vanished,  while  we,  after  fording  the  stream, 
were  at  once  surrounded  by  the  new  one. 

Bu-Bekr-ben-el-Habassi  shook  the  ambassador 
heartily  by  the  hand,  greeted  Ducali — a  former  school- 
mate— warmly,  and  welcomed  the  rest  of  the  party 
with  a  gesture  full  of  grace  and  dignity.  The  em- 
bassy then  proceeded  on  its  way,  but  it  was  some 
time  before  any  of  us  were  able  to  take  our  eyes  off 

(179) 


180  KAEIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

our  new  host,  who  was  certainly  by  far  the  most  at- 
tractive of  any  of  the  Governors  whom  we  had  seen 
as  yet.  He  was  of  medium  height,  slight,  dark,  with 
penetrating  but  kindly  eyes,  a  straight  aquiline 
nose  and  a  thick  black  beard.  When  he  smiled  he 
displayed  two  rows  of  handsome  teeth.  A  snow- 
white  cloak  of  finest  texture  enveloped  his  entire 
person,  the  hood  being  drawn  down  over  his  turban, 
and  he  rode  a  jet-black  horse  with  sky-blue  housings. 
From  his  appearance  one  would  judge  him  to  be  a 
generous  man,  beloved  and  contented,  and  unless  my 
imagination  deceived  me,  the  two  hundred  Kariya  el- 
Habassi  cavaliers  seemed  to  reflect  something  of  their 
Governor's  kindly  disposition.  They  appeared  to 
me  to  wear  the  frank,  tranquil  expression  of  men  who 
for  many  years  had  enjoyed  the  almost  unheard  of 
blessing  of  a  humane  rule.  This  impression  and  the 
cabans  which  now  began  to  crop  up  much  more  fre- 
quently by  the  roadside,  combined,  with  the  beautiful 
weather  and  sweet-smelling  breezes,  to  nourish  for  a 
little  while  at  least  the  pleasing  illusion  that  this  dis- 
trict was  an  oasis  of  prosperity  in  the  middle  of  the 
poverty-stricken  Empire  of  the  Sherifs.  A  little  later 
we  passed  through  a  village  consisting  of  a  double 
row  of  tents,  made  of  camel's  hair,  supported  on  a 
framework  of  reeds  and  sticks ;  beside  each  tent  was 
a  small  garden  patch  enclosed  by  a  hedge  of  Indian 
figs.  Beyond  the  tents  horses  and  cows  were  graz- 
ing. Some  groups  of  half-naked  children  stood  on 


KAKIYA  EL-HABASSI.  181 

the  road  in  front  of  us  waiting  to  see  us  pass,  while 
men  and  women  covered  with  rags  peered  out  from 
behind  the  hedges.  No  one  shook  his  fist  at  us  ;  no 
one  cursed  us.  Hardly  were  we  well  past  the  vil- 
lage when  the  whole  population  streamed  out  of  their 
hiding-places,  and  we  saw  that  they  numbered  some 
hundreds  of  wretched-looking  creatures ;  black, 
squalid,  wondering.  The  effect  was  as  though  the 
population  of  a  cemetery  had  risen  up  before  our 
eyes.  A  few  of  them  managed  to  keep  up  with  us 
for  some  little  time,  but  the  others  were  soon  lost  to 
view  behind  a  piece  of  rising  ground. 

The  character  of  the  country  through  which  we 
were  now  travelling  afforded  an  endless  opportunity 
for  picturesque  effects  in  the  views  we  had  both  of 
the  escort  and  the  caravan.  There  was  a  succession 
of  deep,  parallel  valleys,  formed  by  great  waves  of 
earth,  all  flowered  like  so  many  gardens.  As  we 
dipped  into  each  valley  we  would  lose  sight  for  a  few 
moments  of  the  escort  and  then  see  it  coming  up  from 
behind  the  hill  back  of  us ;  first  all  the  tips  of  the 
muskets,  then  the  turbans  and  fezzes,  then  the  faces, 
and  gradually  the  entire  figures  and  horses,  as  though 
they  were  rising  up  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth ; 
while  on  reaching  the  summit  of  a  hill  and  looking 
back  we  would  behold  all  those  two  hundred  horse- 
men dashing  through  the  smoke-filled  valley,  which 
would  echo  and  re-echo  to  the  thunder  of  their  fire. 
And  so  on  up  and  down — a  long  train  of  horses, 


182  KAEIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

mules,  servants  and  soldiers  following  at  our  heels, 
each  appearing  for  an  instant  on  the  summit  and 
then  disappearing  as  though  he  had  plunged  down  a 
precipice.  Seen  thus  across  all  those  valleys  the 
caravan  looked  interminable  ;  it  had  the  imposing 
air  of  an  army  on  the  march,  or  an  entire  population 
emigrating  at  once. 

At  last  we  came  to  the  village  of  Kariya  el-Habassi, 
consisting  of  the  Governor's  residence  and  a  group 
of  huts  and  cottages,  shaded  by  some  fig-trees  and 
wild  olives.  The  Governor  having  invited  us  to  dis- 
mount for  a  little  while  at  his  house,  the  rest  of  the 
caravan  proceeded  on  their  way  to  the  spot  selected 
for  our  next  camping-ground;  while  we,  after  tra- 
versing two  or  three  court-yards,  each  enclosed  by 
bare  walls,  came  to  a  garden,  on  one  side  of  which 
was  the  principal  entrance  to  the  house  of  Ben-el- 
Habassi,  a  white  structure,  devoid  of  windows  and 
silent  as  a  convent.  The  Governor  having  vanished, 
some  mulatto  slaves  ushered  us  into  a  small  room  on 
the  ground-floor,  white  also,  and  having  no  outlet 
save  the  main  entrance  and  a  small  door  in  one 
corner.  There  were  two  alcoves,  three  white  mat- 
tresses spread  on  the  mosaic  pavement,  and  some 
embroidered  cushions.  It  was  the  first  time  since 
leaving  Tangier  that  we  had  had  an  opportunity  to 
repose  between  four  walls,  and  we  stretched  ourselves 
luxuriously  in  the  alcoves,  awaiting  with  eager 
curiosity  the  continuation  of  the  show.  The  Gov- 


i*ir  of  an  anny  on  the  march,  or  an  entire  population 

At  last  we  came- to  the  village  ->f  Kariya  eL-HabftMi, 
consisting  of  the  Govf-rnov's  ro*kU;:K-r   and  M  . 
of  huts  and  cottages,  shaded  by  some  fig-tru* 


the  ground-floor,  wh:r.r   aJtoo,   .^a   : 

tire  main  entrance    ai;ii  n 

corner,     There  were  two  alcove  mat- 

•s  spread  on  the  mosaic  pa 
red  cushions.     It  was  tl 
C'or  that  we  had  ha*i 
rwoen  four  walls,  anu 

i    the    alcoves,   aw 

Moorish 


KARIYA  EL-HABASSI.  183 

ernor  presently  reappeared,  wrapped  from  head  to 
foot  in  a  ca'ic  of  glistening  white.     Depositing  his 
yellow  slippers  in  one  corner,  he  seated  himself  bare- 
foot on  one  of  the  mattresses  between  Ducali  and 
the  ambassador.     The  slaves  brought  in  jugs  of  milk 
and  dishes  of    sweetmeats,  Ben-el-Habassi   himself 
making  the  tea,  which  he  poured  into  exquisite  cups 
of  Chinese  porcelain,  his  favorite  servant,  a  young 
mulatto  with   tattooed   face,  handing  it  around.     It 
would  be  impossible  to  give  any  just  idea  of  the  grace 
and   dignity  displayed   by  this,  in    all   probability, 
grossly  ignorant  Governor  of  a  few  thousand  tented 
Arabs,  who  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life  had  most 
likely  never  met  more  than  fifty  civilized  persons. 
Dropped  into  the  most  aristocratic  salon  in  Europe, 
no  one  could  have  discovered  the  slightest  excuse  for 
ridiculing  anything  about  him.     He  was  as  clean, 
dainty  and  perfumed  as  an  odalisque  just  out  of  the 
bath.     At  every  gesture  the  caic,  flying  back,  would 
reveal  here  a  touch  of  red,  there  of  blue,  and  again 
of  orange,  all  the  brilliant  coloring  of  the  hidden  cos- 
tume, until  we  longed  to  tear  off  the  veil  and  see 
what  marvels  there  might  be  concealed  beneath,  as 
children  treat  their  dolls.     He  conversed  with  great 
affability  and  no  apparent  curiosity,  quite  as  though 
he  had  seen  us  all  the  day  before.     He  told  us  that 
he  had  never  been  out  of  Morocco,  but  that  he  would 
greatly  like  to  see  our  railroads  and  large  palaces, 
and  he  knew  that  there  were  three  cities  in  Italy 


184  KAKIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

named  respectively  Genoa,  Rome  and  Venice.  While 
he  was  talking  the  small  door  behind  him  was  softly 
pushed  open  and  the  head  of  a  pretty  little  mulatto 
girl  of  ten  or  twelve  was  thrust  in  ;  after  rolling  her 
big  eyes  rapidly  around  with  an  expression  of 
mingled  curiosity  and  terror,  she  disappeared.  This 
was  one  of  the  Governor's  children,  the  mother  being 
a  negress.  He  saw  her,  but  only  smiled.  A  long  in- 
terval of  silence  now  followed.  Aloes  were  burning 
in  a  perfumery-stand  in  the  centre  of  the  room  j  be- 
fore the  door  stood  a  troop  of  wondering  slaves;  be- 
hind the  slaves  rose  a  group  of  palms,  and  beyond 
the  palms  smiled  the  limpid  African  sky.  I  suddenly 
found  myself  overpowered  with  wonder  at  my  sur- 
roundings. I  could  not  believe  that  I  was  the  same 
person  as  he  who  was  wont  to  occupy  that  little  room 
in  Turin.  The  Governor  all  at  once  arising  I  was, 
however,  quickly  recalled  to  a  sense  of  the  reality  of 
the  situation.  Shaking  hands  with  each  in  turn  he 
donned  his  slippers,  and  with  a  graceful  bow  disap- 
peared through  the  small  doorway.  "  He  has  gone 
to  report  to  the  favorite,"  said  someone,  and  I  could 
not  help  wishing  that  I  could  hear  her  questions. 
"  How  do  they  look  ?  What  are  they  like  ?  How 
do  they  talk  ?  How  are  they  dressed  ?  Oh,  my  be- 
loved, let  me  see  them  just  for  one  single  moment 
through  the  crack  of  the  door  and  I  will  load  you  with 
caresses !"  And  no  doubt,  her  courteous  lover 
yielding,  the  mysterious  beauty  did  peep  at  us  from 


KARIYA  EL-HABASSL  185 

behind  some  hiding-place,  only  to  exclaim  in  terror, 
"  Allah  preserve  us  !  What  fearful-looking  people  !" 
On  our  way  to  the  camp,  which  was  pitched  about 
half  a  mile  beyond  the  Governor's  house  on  a  high, 
level  plateau  covered  with-  dry  grass,  we  for  the  first 
time  felt  the  full  power  of  the  heat,  so  much  so  that, 
as  Tadino  says  of  the  populace  of  Milan  during  the 
plague,  we  all  began  to  "  cMudere  li  denti  et  inarcane 
le  ciglia;"  and  this  was  on  the  8th  of  May,  not  more 
than  a  hundred  miles  from  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, with  the  great  plain  of  the  Sebu  stretching 
away  before  us.  Notwithstanding  the  heat,  however, 
the  camp  at  Kariya  el-Habassi  was  enlivened  towards 
evening  by  an  unusual  number  of  visitors.  On  one 
side  a  long  line  of  Arabs,  seated  on  the  ground, 
watched  the  Idb-el-bar6d  of  the  escort  cavalry  j  on  the 
other  were  more  Arabs  playing  ball,  while  a  little 
farther  off  a  group  of  women,  muffled  in  their  coarse 
JimkSj  gazed  at  us  with  much  astonishment,  gesticu- 
lating to  one  another,  and  parties  of  children  ran 
all  about.  Certainly  the  population  of  Ben-el-Ha- 
bassi  seemed  less  savage  than  their  neighbors  of 
Garb.  Biseo  and  I  approached  the  ball-players,  who 
stopped  as  soon  as  they  saw  us,  but  after  consulting 
among  themselves,  recommenced  their  game.  There 
were  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them,  for  the  most  part 
tall,  broad-shouldered,  sinewy  youths,  wearing  noth- 
ing but  a  tunic  fastened  in  at  the  waist,  and  a  sort  of 
coarse,  filthy  linen  cape  wrapped  around  the  body 


186  KAKIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

like  a  caik.  They  played  somewhat  differently  from 
those  whom  I  had  seen  in  Tangier.  One  gave  the 
ball  a  kick  high  in  the  air  with  his  foot,  and  the 
others  all  tried  to  catch  it  as  far  from  the  ground  as 
possible,  bounding  up  in  great  vertical  leaps  as  though 
they  were  trying  to  fly  j  the  one  who  caught  it  kicked 
it  in  his  turn.  Frequently  in  the  rush  one  of  the 
heavier  ones  would  fall,  dragging  down  some  of  his 
companions  with  him,  and  the  others  tripping  over 
them,  the  whole  party  would  roll  over  and  over  for 
some  distance,  in  a  tangled,  confused  mass,  kicking 
and  laughing,  without  caring  in  the  least  what  was 
being  exposed  to  the  light  of  day.  More  than  one, 
as  he  rolled  about,  displayed  a  curved  dagger  fastened 
at  his  belt,  and  others  had  little  wallets  tied  about 
their  necks,  probably  containing  verses  from  the 
Koran,  worn  to  keep  off  scurvy.  Once  the  ball  fall- 
ing at  my  feet,  a  sudden  idea  occurred  to  me ;  pick- 
ing it  up,  I  held  it  out  on  one  palm,  and  with  the 
other  hand  made  two  or  three  cabalistic  signs  above, 
then  threw  it  back.  For  a  few  moments  none  of  the 
players  dared  to  pick  it  up.  They  went  close  to  it, 
touched  it  gingerly  with  their  feet,  examined  it,  and 
it  was  not  until  he  had  seen  me  laugh  and  make  signs 
to  show  that  I  had  been  joking  that  one  bold  spirit 
picked  it  up,  laughing  as  well,  and  threw  it  back  to 
his  companions.  Meanwhile  the  children,  who  had 
been  running  hither  and  thither,  began  to  crowd 
around  us.  There  were  about  fifty  of  them,  and  if 


KAEIYA  EL-HABASSI.  187 

their  combined  wardrobe  had  been  offered  for  sale,  it 
is  not  likely  that  a  pedler  could  have  been  found 
willing  to  give  fifty  centimes  for  the  lot.  Some  of 
them  were  extremely  pretty,  many  scurvy,  almost  all 
coffee-colored,  a  few  a  sort  of  greenish-yellow,  as 
though  their  skin  had  been  stained  with  some  vege- 
table substance,  and  some  of  them  wore  pig-tails  in 
the  Chinese  fashion.  At  first  they  kept  about  ten 
feet  away,  watching  us  suspiciously  and  exchanging  re- 
marks in  a  low  voice ;  then  seeing  that  we  did  not  make 
any  hostile  demonstrations  they  drew  gradually  nearer, 
until  they  were  almost  touching  us,  and  began  stand- 
ing on  tiptoe,  stooping  down,  bending  here  and  there, 
so  as  to  see  every  part  of  us,  just  as  though  we  had 
been  two  statues,  we  remaining  all  the  while  per- 
fectly still  j  then  one  of  them  touched  my  shoe  with 
the  tip  of  one  finger,  withdrawing  his  hand  quickly 
as  though  he  had  burned  it ;  another  sniffed  at  my 
sleeve.  By  this  time  we  were  entirely  surrounded 
and  hemmed  in.  All  sorts  of  exotic  smells  saluted 
our  nostrils,  we  began  to  fancy  that  we  felt  a  creep- 
ing sensation  up  our  backs.  "  Come,"  said  Biseo, 
"  it  is  high  time  we  were  rid  of  them  ;  I  have  an  in- 
fallible method,"  and  so  saying  he  briskly  took  out 
his  sketch-book  and  pencil,  as  though  he  were  about 
to  draw  some  of  the  faces  about  us.  In  a  twinkling 
the  whole  troop  had  scattered  like  a  flock  of  birds. 
In  a  few  minutes  we  saw  some  women  approaching 
us.  "Miraculous!"  we  said  to  one  another;  "but 


188  KARIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

perhaps  they  are  coining  to  stab  us  in  the  name  of 
Mohammed,"  and  we  stood  on  our  guard.  But  they 
were  only  some  poor,  weak,  sick  creatures  with 
hardly  sufficient  strength  to  stand  on  their  feet  or 
hold  their  arms  up  to  keep  the  haiJc  over  their  faces. 
Among  them  was  one  quite  young  woman,  who  was 
sobbing  piteously,  showing  one  tear-bedimmed  blue 
eye.  Seeing  that  they  were  looking  for  the  doctor 
I  pointed  out  the  way,  upon  which  one  of  them  made 
me  understand  by  signs  that  she  wished  to  know  if 
they  would  have  to  pay.  I  said  "no,"  and  they 
moved  off  unsteadily  in  the  direction  of  the  doctor's 
tent,  I  following  to  be  present  at  the  consultation. 
"  What  is  the  matter  ?"  asked  Signor  Miguerez,  in 
Arabic,  of  the  first  one.  "I  have  a  terrible  pain 
here,"  she  said,  pointing  to  her  shoulder.  "  What  is 
it  ?"  he  asked.  I  do  not  recollect  her  reply,  but  the 
doctor  told  her  that  he  would  have  to  see  the  place, 
and  directed  her  to  bare  her  shoulder.  The  woman 
did  not  stir.  There  lay  the  great  difficulty  ;  it  was 
always  "  I  have  something  here,  lower  down,  higher 
up,  here,  there,"  but  not  one  of  them,  not  even  old 
nonagenarians,  would  let  the  doctor  make  an  exami- 
nation, all  insisting  that  he  "  could  guess."  "  Now 
will  you  or  will  you  not  let  me  see  the  place  ?"  asked 
Miguerez  finally.  The  woman  still  made  no  motion. 
"  Very  well,  that  being  the  case  I  will  attend  to  the 
others,"  and  he  turned  to  the  rest,  while  the  first 
one  went  sadly  away.  The  others  had  no  need  to 


KAKIYA  EL-HABASSI.  189 

uncover,  so  the  doctor  distributed  pills  and  powders, 
and  dismissed  them  with  a  "  Grod  bless  you."  Poor 
creatures,  not  one  of  them  was  probably  yet  thirty, 
and  they  had  all  lost  their  youth,  a  loss  which  means 
the  beginning  of  the  excessive  toil,  the  brutal  treat- 
ment and  the  contempt  that  go  to  make  the  old  age 
of  an  Arab  woman  a  thing  of  horror.  An  instru- 
ment of  the  passions  up  to  twenty,  she  is  a  beast  of 
burden  for  the  rest  of  her  life. 

Dinner  that  evening  was  enlivened  by  a  visit  from 
Ben-el-Habassi,  and  the  disastrous  night  that  fol- 
lowed by  a  terrible  invasion  of  insects.  Already, 
during  the  hot  part  of  the  day,  I  had  foreseen  trouble 
ahead  from  the  extraordinary  signs  of  life  in  the 
grass.  The  ants  formed  in  long  black  lines,  the 
beetles  lay  in  heaps,  the  grasshoppers  were  as  thick 
as  flies,  and  added  to  these  were  many  new  insects 
which  we  had  not  seen  before  in  any  of  our  other 
halts,  and  which  filled  me  with  dark  suspicions. 
Captain  di  Boccard,  a  connoisseur  in  entomology, 
furnished  me  with  their  names.  Among  others  there 
was  the  cicindela  campestris,  a  living  pitfall  which 
closes  the  mouth  of  its  hole  with  its  great  head,  and 
drops  down  suddenly,  dragging  with  it  such  insects  as 
may  have  been  incautious  enough  to  walk  over  it ; 
the  Pheropsophus  africanus,  which  shoots  a  puff  of 
corrosive  vapor  over  its  pursuing  enemy  ;  the  Meloe 
majalis,  which  can  hardly  drag  along  its  huge  abdo- 
men, like  that  of  a  person  with  dropsy,  stuffed  with 


190  KAR1YA  EL-HABASSI. 

grass  and  eggs ;  the  Carabus  rugosus,  the  Pamelia 
scabrosa,  the  Cetonia  opaca,  the  Cossyphus  Hoffman- 
seggi — animated  leaves  which  Victor  Hugo  would  de- 
scribe in  a  way  to  make  your  blood  curdle.  Then 
any  number  of  great  lizards,  spiders,  centipedes  as 
long  as  your  hand,  singing  crickets  as  large  as  a 
thumb,  green  bugs  the  size  of  a  sou-piece,  all  of 
which  came  and  went  as  though  they  were  preparing 
by  common  agreement  for  some  warlike  enterprise. 
And  as  if  this  were  not  enough,  hardly  were  we 
seated  at  table  when,  on  reaching  out  my  hand  to 
pour  out  something  to  drink,  I  espied  a  ridiculous- 
looking  locust  peeping  at  me  around  my  glass,  who, 
instead  of  flying  away  in  alarm  at  my  threatening 
gesture,  calmly  continued  to  gaze  at  me  with  imperti- 
nant  audacity.  At  length,  to  complete  our  demoral- 
ization, as  we  got  up  from  table  Hamed  appeared 
with  the  look  of  a  man  who  has  just  passed  through 
some  great  danger,  and  proceeded  to  display  before 
our  very  eyes  nothing  less  than  a  tarantula,  a  verit- 
able lycosa  tarentula,  impaled  upon  a  toothpick,  that 
terrible  spider  which  "  cuando  pica  cS  un  Jwmbre  " — 
when  it  bites  a  man — said  he,  "  Allah  have  mercy 
upon  him  !  The  unfortunate  one  begins  to  laugh  and 
cry,  to  sing  and  dance,  and  nothing  but  good  music, 
really  good  music,  the  Sultan's  band,  for  instance,  can 
save  him !"  Now  let  the  reader  try  to  imagine  for 
himself  with  what  sensations  I  looked  forward  to  the 
night.  I  and  my  three  companions  had,  however, 


KARIYA  EL-HABASSI.  191 

ceased  talking,  the  lights  were  out,  and  we  had  been 
some  moments  in  bed  before  any  one  felt  anything ; 
this,  however,  was  merely  a  slight  interval  of  truce. 
The  commander  suddenly  leaped  into  a  sitting  posi- 
tion, calling  out,  "  I  am  fairly  alive !"  and  then  we 
all  began  to  have  sensations.  At  first  there  were 
only  light  touches,  timid  prickings,  ticklings,  the  ten- 
tative provocations  of  light  advance-guards,  to  which 
we  could  afford  to  pay  no  attention.  But  before  long 
the  main  body  of  the  army  took  the  field,  and  vigor- 
ous defensive  operations  became  necessary.  The 
battle  waged  fiercely,  but  the  harder  we  fought  the 
more  rapidly  did  the  enemy  send  reinforcements  to 
the  front.  They  came  from  beneath  the  bolsters, 
crept  up  from  the  foot  of  the  beds,  dropped  from  the 
top  of  the  tent ;  they  seemed  to  be  carrying  out  some 
prearranged  order  of  attack,  to  belong  to  different 
parts  of  a  great  strategic  design,  conceived  in  the 
brain  of  an  insect  of  genius  j  apparently  it  was  a  re- 
ligious war;  in  short,  we  were  finally  obliged  to 
change  our  policy  or  acknowledge  ourselves  beaten. 
"  The  light !"  shrieked  the  vice-consul.  We  all 
four  bounded  simultaneously  to  the  ground,  lit  the 
light,  and  the  massacre  began.  The  rank  and 
file  were  slaughtered  indiscriminately,  while  the  lead- 
ers, the  great  men,  were  first  classified  by  the  cap- 
tain, then  condemned  by  the  commander,  the  vice- 
consul  placed  them  on  the  pyre  and  I  delivered  the 
funeral  oration  in  prose  or  choice  verse,  which  will  be 


192  KAKIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

published  after  my  death.  In  a  short  space  of  time  the 
ground  was  strewn  with  wings,  claws,  legs  and  heads, 
the  survivors  dispersed,  and  we,  weary  of  slaughter, 
after  having  mutually  appointed  one  another  cheva- 
liers of  various  orders,  once  more  laid  our  tired  heads 
upon  our  pillows.  But  what  an  uproar  we  made ! 
What  mad  rejoicings,  even  though  there  was  not  a 
whole  skin  among  us  !  What  shrieks  of  laughter 
that  shook  us  from  head  to  foot  and  did  us  good,  body 
and  soul ! 

At  sunrise  the  next  day  Governor  Ben-el-Habassi 
again  presented  himself  to  accompany  the  ambassador 
to  the  confines  of  his  district.  No  sooner  had  we 
descended  from  the  high  ground  of  the  encampment 
than  we  saw,  stretching  away  before  our  eyes  to  the 
horizon,  the  immense  plain  of  the  Sebu.  This  river, 
one  of  the  largest  of  the  Moghreb,  descends  from  the 
western  slope  of  that  spur  of  mountains  which  extends 
from  the  upper  Atk,s  towards  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar, 
flows  over  a  course  of  nearly  two  hundred  and  forty 
kilometres,  swelled  by  numerous  tributary  streams, 
and  describing  a  circuit  near  its  mouth  empties  into 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  Mehdia,  where  the  deposit  of 
sand,  as  at  the  mouths  of  almost  all  the  rivers  of 
Morocco  of  that  size,  prevents  the  entrance  of  ships 
and  causes  tremendous  inundations  at  the  season  of 
the  overflow.  The  basin  of  this  river  embraces  at 
one  end  all  that  district  lying  between  El  Araish  and 
Sla,  and  at  the  other  borders  on  the  high  basin  of  the 


KARIYA  EL-HABASSI.  193 

Muluya  (that  large  river  that  marks  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  Moghreb),  and  opens  to  Europeans, 
by  the  coast  and  Taza,  a  way  to  the  city  of  Fez,  and 
not  to  Fez  alone,  but  to  the  great  city  of  Mequinez 
— the  third  capital — as  well.  Thus  it  includes,  one 
may  say,  the  political  life  of  the  empire  and  the  prin- 
cipal seats  of  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  sherifs.  It 
is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Sebu  marks  the  northern 
boundary  beyond  which  the  Sultan  never  passes  un- 
less in  time  of  war,  the  three  cities  of  Fez,  Morocco 
and  Mequinez,  in  which  he  resides  by  turns,  all  lying 
to  the  south  of  it,  as  well  as  the  twin  cities  of  Sla- 
Rabat,  which  he  visits  on  his  way  from  Fez  to  Mo- 
rocco— this  detour  being  made  in  order  not  to  cross 
the  chain  of  mountains  which  closes  the  valley  of  the 
Sebu  to  the  south,  inhabited  by  a  tribe  called  the 
Zairis,  a  mixed  Berber  race,  who  share  with  that  of 
Beni-Mtir  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  turbulent 
and  indomitable  inhabitants  of  those  mountains.  An 
hour's  ride  brought  us  to  the  Sebu.  It  seemed  to  me 
as  though  I  were  looking  at  the  Tiber  flowing  across 
the  Roman  Campagna.  At  this  point  it  was  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide,  mud-colored, 
swollen,  rapid,  shut  in  between  two  lofty  banks 
almost  vertical  and  perfectly  bare,  rising  from  two 
strips  of  muddy  ground.  A  couple  of  antediluvian 
boats,  propelled  by  a  dozen  or  so  Arabs,  were  ap- 
proaching the  shore.  These  boats  would  be  sufficient 
in  themselves  to  give  a  fair  idea  of  Morocco.  For 
VOL.  I.— 13 


194  KAKIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

hundreds  of  years  sultans,  pashas,  caravans  and  am- 
bassadors have  crossed  the  river  on  just  such  old 
hulks  as  these,  with  their  feet  resting  in  mud  and 
water,  sometimes  at  the  risk  of  being  drowned.  And 
when,  as  frequently  happens,  the  bottoms  have  holes 
stove  in  them,  caravans  and  embassies,  and  pashas 
and  sultans  wait,  sometimes  for  several  hours,  in  sun 
or  rain,  until  the  boatmen  have  closed  them  up  with 
mud  or  anything  else  they  can  lay  hands  on.  And 
for  hundreds  of  years  horses,  mules  and  camels,  for 
want  of  a  piece  of  board  six  feet  long,  have  risked 
breaking  their  legs,  or  actually  have  broken  them,  in 
the  effort  to  jump  on  board  from  the  bank.  It  never 
seems  to  have  occurred  to  anyone  to  build  a  bridge 
of  boats,  or  bring  a  six-foot  plank  to  the  spot  j  while 
should  anyone  reproach  these  people  for  not  having 
done  either  the  one  or  the  other  he  would  be  looked 
upon  with  profound  amazement,  as  though  he  had 
taken  them  to  task  for  not  performing  some  wonder- 
ful feat.  In  many  places  the  rivers  are  crossed  in 
cane  boats,  and  troops  are  usually  gotten  over  on 
floating  bridges,  made  of  inflated  skins  with  earth  and 
tree  branches  on  top.  We  all  dismounted,  and  de- 
scended the  bank  by  a  steep  path.  The  first  boat, 
after  making  two  or  three  wide  circuits  to  avoid  the 
currents  and  eddies,  landed  all  the  Italians  on  the 
other  shore,  from  whence  we  viewed  the  passage  of 
the  entire  caravan.  What  an  extraordinary  picture 
it  was !  I  can  see  it  before  me  now,  with  all  the  at- 


KAEIYA  EL-HABASSI.  195 

tendant  bustle  and  excitement.  One  of  the  boats  is 
sliding  along  in  mid-stream,  loaded  with  the  Moors 
and  camels  belonging  to  the  baggage-train,  and  a 
little  farther  off  the  other  boat  is  bringing  over  the 
horses  and  riders  of  the  Fez  escort,  in  whose  midst 
the  flag  of  Mohammed  may  be  seen  floating  free,  and 
by  it  the  shining  dark  skin  and  muslin  turban  of  the 
Kaid.  Across  the  river,  in  the  middle  of  a  confused 
mass  of  horses,  mules,  servants  and  packing-boxes, 
which  covers  the  bank  for  some  distance,  gleams  the 
graceful  white  figure  of  Governor  Ben-el-Habassi, 
seated  upon  a  mound,  in  the  shadow  of  his  beautiful 
black  horse  with  its  sky-blue  saddle,  and  surrounded 
by  his  officers.  On  top  of  the  bank,  which  looks  like 
the  wall  of  a  fortification,  behind  a  long  row  of  Arabs, 
seated  on  the  edge,  with  their  legs  hanging  over,  are 
the  Governor's  two  hundred  horsemen  drawn  up  in 
line,  who,  seen  thus  from  below,  against  the  blue 
background  of  the  sky,  look  like  so  many  giants. 
Some  naked  black  servants  are  plunging  in  and  out 
of  the  river,  shouting  and  throwing  the  water  about ; 
a  party  of  Arabs  are  washing  out  their  rags  on  the 
bank  in  the  Moorish  fashion,  dancing  up  and  down  on 
top  of  them  like  marionettes  ;  others  swim  the  river  | 
flocks  of  storks  fly  overhead  ;  far  off  down  the  bank 
a  column  of  smoke  rises  from  a  group  of  Bedouin 
tents ;  the  boatmen  chant  aloud  a  prayer  to  the 
Prophet  for  a  successful  issue  to  the  undertaking; 
the  water  sparkles  in  the  sun  like  gold,  and  Selam, 


196  KAEIYA  EL-HABASSI. 

standing  erect,  ten  feet  in  front  of  us,  in  his  famous 
caftan,  supplies  in  this  great,  gay,  barbarous  picture, 
the  most  delightfully  harmonious  dash  of  red  a  painter 
could  possibly  desire.  The  passage  consumed  several 
hours.  As  fast  as  it  landed,  each  detachment  of  the 
caravan  got  under  way  j  at  length  the  last  horses 
were  safely  over.  Governor  Ben-el-Habassi  mounted 
and  rejoined  his  soldiers  on  the  top  of  the  opposite 
bank.  As  he  was  about  to  start  the  ambassador  and 
all  of  us  waved  our  hands  in  token  of  salute,  upon 
which  the  Kariya  el-Habassi  guard  responded  with  a 
tremendous  discharge  of  musketry  and  disappeared 
from  view,  but  for  several  moments  longer  we  could 
distinguish  through  the  smoke  the  graceful  white 
figure  of  the  Governor,  standing  erect  in  his  stirrups, 
with  one  arm  extended  towards  us  in  sign  of  good 
wishes  and  farewell.  Accompanied  then  by  only 
the  Fez  escort,  we  made  our  entry  into  the  district 
of  Beni-Hassan,  of  melancholy  fame. 


BEN1-HASSAN. 


(197) 


BENI-HASSAK 


WE  travelled  for  more  than  an  hour  through  fields 
of  very  high  barley,  above  which  projected  here  and 
there  a  black  tent,  a  camel's  head  or  a  column  of 
smoke  ;  snakes,  scorpions  and  lizards  ran  across  our 
path.  In  that  brief  space  of  time  the  sun  had 
already  scorched  our  saddles  so  that  we  could  hardly 
touch  them  with  our  hands.  The  glare  blinded  us, 
and  the  dust  had  choked  everyone  into  silence.  That 
plain  stretching  away  ahead  of  us  like  an  ocean  gave 
me  a  sort  of  fright,  as  though  the  caravan  might  be 
condemned  to  travel  across  it  forever.  But  curiosity 
to  see  those  haughty  Beni- Hassans  of  whom  I  had 
heard  so  much,  at  close  quarters,  revived  my  spirits. 
"  What  sort  of  people  are  they  ?"  I  asked  one  of  the 
interpreters. 

"  Thieves  and  cut-throats,"  was  the  reply.  "  Be- 
ings from  the  other  world,  the  hardest  characters  in 
Morocco." 

Upon  which  I  scanned  the  horizon  more  anxiously 
than  ever.  The  "  beings  from  the  other  world  "  did 
not,  however,  keep  us  waiting  long.  Far  away  ahead 
of  us  we  presently  descried  a  cloud  of  dust  and  a  very 

(199) 


200  BENI-HASSm 

few  minutes  later  were  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of 
three  hundred  mounted  savages — green,  yellow, 
scarlet,  white,  purple,  ragged,  disordered,  panting, 
looking  as  though  they  might  be  fresh  from  some 
scene  of  riot.  Through  the  thick  clouds  of  dust  that 
enveloped  us  we  saw  the  Governor — a  long-haired, 
black-bearded  giant  followed  by  two  gray-headed 
Vice-Governors,  all  three  armed  with  guns — approach 
the  ambassador,  shake  hands  with  him  and  withdraw. 
Straightway  the  charges,  firing  and  shouts  of  the  es- 
cort began.  They  were  like  so  many  maniacs.  They 
fired  between  our  mules'  legs,  over  our  heads,  close  to 
our  shoulders.  Seen  at  a  little  distance  they  must  have 
seemed  exactly  like  a  band  of  assassins  in  the  act  of 
attacking  us.  There  were  terrible-looking  old  men, 
with  long  white  beards,  so  wasted  as  to  be  nothing 
but  skin  and  bone,  but  who  seemed  good  for  centuries. 
There  were  young  men  with  great  shocks  of  black 
hair,  which  waved  in  the  wind  like  manes ;  many  of 
them  had  bare  chests,  arms  and  legs ;  their  turbans 
were  masses  of  red  tatters  wound  around  their  heads ; 
torn  caiks,  wornout  saddles,  harness  made  of  rope, 
and  swords  and  daggers  of  outlandish  shapes.  And 
then  their  faces  !  "  It  is  absurd,"  said  the  commander, 
paraphrasing  Don  Abbondio.  "  It  is  absurd  to  sup- 
pose that  such  people  as  these  are  going  to  deny 
themselves  the  luxury  of  killing  us."  Every  indi- 
vidual face  told  a  tale  of  blood,  and  they  looked 
askance  at  us  in  passing,  as  though  they  were  trying 


BENI-HASSAN.  201 

to  conceal  their  expressions  from  us.  A  hundred  of 
them  rode  behind  us,  a  hundred  on  our  right,  and  a 
hundred  on  our  left,  scattered  over  the  plain  to  a  great 
distance.  This  plan  of  stationing  a  guard  on  either 
side  was  something  new,  but  it  was  not  long  before 
the  reason  was  made  manifest.  The  farther  we  ad- 
vanced the  more  frequent  became  the  tents,  until  we 
passed  through  actual  villages,  surrounded  by  Indian 
figs  and  aloes,  and  from  all  these  tents  poured  a 
stream  of  Arabs,  clad  in  nothing  but  tunics.  Singly 
and  in  groups,  on  foot,  on  horseback,  on  donkeys, 
two,  sometimes  three,  astride  of  one  animal  5  women 
with  children  on  their  shoulders  j  old  men  leaning  on 
boys,  all  of  them  breathless  and  eager  to  see  us — and 
it  may  be  not  to  see  only.  Little  by  little  we  were 
surrounded  by  an  entire  population  ;  then  the  soldiers 
of  the  escort  began  to  disperse  them ;  they  dashed 
here  and  there,  riding  full  tilt  into  the  largest  groups, 
shouting,  striking  out,  overturning  horses  and  riders, 
and  scattering  curses  and  abuse  in  every  direction. 
But  as  fast  as  the  crowd  was  broken  up  in  one  spot 
it  would  reassemble  in  another,  and  continue  to  ac- 
company us  on  a  run.  Through  all  the  dust  and 
smoke,  amid  the  constant  flash  and  report  of  fire- 
arms, we  would  catch  glimpses  of  the  wide,  open 
country.  In  the  distance  tents,  horses,  camels,  herds, 
groups  of  aloes,  columns  of  smoke,  crowds  of  people, 
standing  perfectly  still  and  gazing  in  our  direction  in 
attitudes  of  profound  amazement.  We  had  certainly 


202  BENI-HASSAK 

reached  an  inhabited  district  at  last !  This  blessed 
population  of  Morocco  does  exist,  then,  and  is  not 
mythical  after  all !  At  the  end  of  an  hour  of  rather 
rapid  travelling  we  once  more  found  ourselves  in  a 
lonely  country,  and  accompanied  only  by  the  escort, 
and  barely  a  mile  beyond,  on  emerging  from  behind 
a  group  of  Indian  fig-trees,  we  came  unexpectedly 
upon  what  was  always  a  most  joyful  sight — the  flag 
of  Italy  waving  from  the  centre  of  our  little  movable 
city,  the  last  tents  of  which  were  even  then  being 
erected.  The  camp  was  pitched  this  time  on  the 
banks  of  the  Sebu,  which  describes  a  wide  curve 
from  the  point  where  we  had  crossed  it  in  the  morn- 
ing to  that  which  we  had  now  reached.  A  close  chain 
of  sentinels  on  foot  and  armed  with  muskets  was 
drawn  all  around  the  tents.  Apparently  there  was 
no  doubt  that  this  district  was  considered  unsafe. 
Had  I  had  any  uncertainty  on  this  head  it  would 
have  been  quickly  dispelled  by  what  I  was  presently 
told  about  the  inhabitants.  The  Beni-Hassans  are  the 
most  turbulent,  audacious,  quarrelsome  and  thievish 
people  of  the  entire  Sebu  valley.  The  last  proof 
they  gave  of  this  was  a  sanguinary  revolt  which 
broke  out  in  the  summer  of  1873,  when  the  reigning 
Sultan  ascended  the  throne.  It  began  with  the  sack 
of  the  Governor's  house,  from  which  they  carried  off 
everything,  even  to  the  women.  Stealing,  indeed,  is 
their  chief  profession.  Assembling  in  armed  and 
mounted  bands,  they  make  raids  across  the  Sebu  and 


BENI-HASSAN.  203 

throughout  the  adjoining  districts,  stealing  all  they 
can  carry  or  drag  away,  and  killing,  as  a  precautionary 
measure,  all  whom  they  meet.  They  are  well-disci- 
plined 5  have  their  chiefs,  their  laws  and  their  privi- 
leges, which  are  acknowledged  to  a  certain  extent 
even  by  the  Governor,  who  sometimes  makes  use  of 
them  to  regain  possession  of  stolen  property.  They 
steal  as  a  means  of  levying  a  sort  of  fine.  The  in- 
jured party,  instead  of  wasting  time  in  useless  inves- 
tigations and  complaints,  gets  back  his  belongings  on 
the  payment  of  a  certain  sum  agreed  upon  with  the 
robber  chief.  As  to  the  boys,  it  is  universally  ac- 
cepted as  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that  a 
boy  should  steal  everything  he  can  lay  his  hands 
upon.  If  he  happens  to  get  a  ball  in  his  breast,  or 
have  his  head  broken,  so  much  the  worse  for  him. 
Of  course  no  one  supposes  that  people  like  being 
robbed ;  and,  moreover,  there  is  no  rose  without  a 
thorn,  as  their  fathers  ingenuously  tell  them.  An 
eight-year-old  boy  brings  in  very  little  ;  one  of  twelve 
considerably  more,  and  a  youth  of  sixteen  a  great 
deal.  Each  thief  has  his  own  especial  line.  There 
is  the  grain  thief,  the  cattle  thief,  the  horse  thief,  the 
merchandise  thief,  the  thief  of  the  duar*  and  the  thief 
of  the  road.  This  last  finds  his  most  profitable  vic- 
tims in  the  Jews,  who  are  forbidden  by  law  from 
carrying  arms.  But  the  most  common  depredations 

*  The  name  given  to  Arab  encampments. 


204  BENI-HASSAN. 

of  all  are  those  committed  in  the  duar.  In  this  par- 
ticular line  there  are  many  incomparable  artists,  not 
only  among  the  Beni-Hassans,  but  all  through  Mo- 
rocco. They  go  on  these  burglarious  expeditions  on 
horseback,  and  the  great  art  consists  not  so  much  in 
the  cleverness  as  in  the  rapidity  of  the  act.  The 
point  is  not  to  escape  unseen,  but  to  escape  without 
being  caught.  They  dash  up,  seize  and  vanish  be- 
fore the  villagers  have  time  to  even  recognize  them. 
Thefts  committed  on  the  wing,  flashes  of  lightning, 
prestidigitatory  games  on  horseback.  But  they 
plunder  on  foot  as  well,  and  here  again  are  masters 
of  the  art.  Stealing  into  the  duar  naked,  because 
dogs  do  not  bark  at  naked  men,  or  cloaked  from  head 
to  foot  in  order  to  slip  the  more  readily  out  of  the 
hands  of  anyone  who  may  lay  hold  on  them,  or  carry- 
ing heaps  of  leaves  in  their  arms  so  that  the  horses, 
mistaking  them  for  bushes,  will  not  take  fright. 
Horses,  indeed,  are  the  most  highly  valued  booty  of 
all.  The  thief  flings  his  arms  around  the  animal's 
neck,  draws  his  legs  up  beneath  his  belly,  and  off  he 
goes  like  an  arrow.  Their  audacity  is  something  in- 
credible j  there  is  not  a  camp,  even  be  it  that  of  a 
pasha  or  an  ambassador,  to  which  they  do  not  man- 
age to  gain  access,  notwithstanding  the  most  vigilant 
watchfulness.  They  crawl,  glide,  flatten  themselves 
against  the  ground,  covered  with  grass,  straw,  leaves ; 
dressed  in  sheep-skin,  disguised  as  beggars,  sick 
men,  idiots,  soldiers,  saints.  They  risk  their  lives 


BENI-HASSAK  205 

fpr  a  chicken,  and  are  willing  to  go  ten  miles  in  the 
hope  of  getting  a  crown.  They  have  actually  stolen 
the  money-bags  from  beneath  the  very  heads  of  sleep- 
ing ambassadors.  And  so  it  was  not  so  much  to  be 
wondered  at  that  on  this  night,  notwithstanding  the 
cordon  of  sentinels,  they  managed  to  get  away  with 
a  sheep  which  the  cook  had  tied  for  safe-keeping  to 
his  own  bed.  On  discovering  his  loss  in  the  morn- 
ing he  stood  motionless  before  his  tent  for  half  an 
hour,  with  arms  folded  upon  his  breast  and  gloomy 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  horizon,  exclaiming  from  time 
to  time,  "  Ah  !  Madona  santa,  che  pais  !  die  pais  ! 
che  pais  /" 

I  mentioned  above  the  duars.  It  is  impossible  to 
talk  at  any  length  about  Morocco  without  describing 
them,  and,  I  am  very  well  able  to  do  this  both  from 
what  I  saw  of  them  for  myself  and  what  Signor  Morteo, 
who  has  been  in  the  country  twenty  years,  told  me. 
Signor  Morteo,  by  way  of  parenthesis,  is  a  singular 
type  of  man.  A  Genoese  by  birth,  still  young,  mar- 
ried to  a  beautiful  English  woman,  the  father  of  two 
charming  children  and  wealthy  enough  to  live  in  ele- 
gance in  any  capital  in  Europe,  he  prefers  to  remain 
in  voluntary  exile  in  Mazagan,  a  little  town  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  about  two  hundred  kilometres  from 
Morocco,  surrounded  by  Arabs  and  Moors,  occupied 
solely  with  his  family  and  his  business,  not  setting 
eyes  for  months  at  a  time  on  a  European  face,  and 
keeping  up  no  connection  with  the  civilized  world 


206  BENI-HASSAN. 

beyond  subscribing  to  two  illustrated  papers.  From 
time  to  time  he  goes  on  a  tour  through  Italy  or  France; 
but  he  tires  of  it  almost  as  soon  as  he  gets  there,  and 
from  the  boxes  of  the  Scala  or  the  Grand  Opera 
sighs  for  his  little  Moorish  house,  bathed  by  the 
ocean  waves,  his  herds  of  cattle  and  his  duar,  the 
ignorant,  peaceful  life  of  his  adopted  African  home. 
In  that  land  where  not  so  very  long  ago  a  French 
consular  agent  became  so  tortured  by  melancholy 
that  he  went  crazy,  and  another  attempted  to  bury 
himself  alive  in  the  sand  on  the  sea-shore,  he  has  never 
had  a  single  attack  of  spleen.  He  talks  Arabic,  eats 
like  the  natives,  lives  among  them,  studies  them,  loves 
them,  and  takes  their  part  on  all  occasions.  He  has 
contracted  a  few  of  their  faults  and  many  of  their 
good  qualities ;  in  short,  there  is  nothing  European 
left  about  him  but  his  family,  his  dress  and  his  Ge- 
noese accent.  Notwithstanding  which,  no  one  could 
possibly  have  shown  himself  more  charmingly  Italian 
than  did  he,  from  the  first  day  of  our  journey  to  the 
last.  Interpreter,  intendant,  guide,  companion,  he 
made  himself  useful  to  and  beloved  by  all,  and  no  one 
ever  thought  of  disagreeing  with  him  save  upon  one 
single  point — we  wanted  Morocco  to  become  civilized, 
while  he  contended  that  civilization  would  only  ren- 
der the  people  twice  as  melancholy  and  four  times 
more  unhappy  than  they  already  were,  and  I  must 
confess  that  if  he  was  wrong  I  was  more  than  once 
tempted  to  agree  with  him. 


BENI-HASSAN.  207 

The  duar  is  usually  a  settlement  of  ten,  fifteen  or 
twenty  families,  connected  by  some  bond  of  relation- 
ship, each  family  having  its  own  tent.  These  tents 
stand  in  two  parallel  lines,  about  thirty  feet  apart,  so 
that  a  sort  of  rectangular  space  is  left  in  the  middle,  open 
at  both  ends.  The  tents  are  almost  invariably  alike  j 
they  are  made  out  of  a  large  piece  of  black  or  chocolate- 
colored  material,  woven  from  the  fibre  of  dwarf  palms 
or  from  goats'  or  camels'  hair  ;  this  is  stretched  over  up- 
right stakes  or  thick  reeds,  connected  by  a  wooden  cross- 
piece,  on  which  the  roof  rests,  their  shape  still  resem- 
bling that  of  the  habitations  of  the  Numidians  of  the 
timeof  Jugurtha,  which  Sallust  compares  to  overturned 
ships  with  their  keels  in  the  air.  During  the  autumn 
and  winter  the  covering  is  drawn  down  to  the  ground 
and  held  in  place  by  means  of  cords  and  pegs,  so  as  to 
effectually  exclude  both  wind  and  rain.  In  summer 
a  wide  aperture  is  left  all  around,  so  that  the  air  may 
circulate  freely,  and  this  is  protected  by  a  low  hedge 
of  rushes  and  dried  brambles.  Owing  to  these  pre- 
cautions the  tent  of  the  duar  is  much  cooler  in  sum- 
mer and  better  protected  through  the  rainy  season 
than  the  same  class  of  Moorish  dwellings  in  the  cities, 
since  the  latter  are  without  either  proper  ventilation  or 
glazed  windows.  The  maximum  height  of  a  tent  is 
about  eight  feet,  the  maximum  length  about  ten. 
Any  which  may  exceed  these  dimensions  belong  to 
wealthy  sheiks,  and  are  extremely  rare.  A  partition 
made  of  rushes  divides  the  dwelling  in  two  parts,  in 


208  BENI-HASSAN. 

one  of  which  the  father  and  mother  sleep,  and  in  the 
other  the  children  and  the  rest  of  the  family.  A  few 
osier  mats,  a  brightly-colored  and  arabesqued  wooden 
box,  containing  clothing ;  a  small  looking-glass,  manu- 
factured in  Trieste  or  Venice ;  a  high  tripod,  made 
of  canes  and  covered  with  a  Ifidik^  under  which  the 
family  bathing  is  done ;  a  couple  of  stones  for  grind- 
ing wheat  5  a  loom,  such  as  was  used  in  the  days  of 
Abraham ;  a  rough  tin  lantern,  a  few  earthenware 
jugs,  a  few  goat-skins,  a  few  dishes,  a  distaff,  a  sad- 
dle, a  gun,  a  big  dagger,  such  is  the  entire  furnishing 
of  one  of  these  dwellings.  In  one  corner  a  hen  gathers 
in  her  brood  of  chickens,  a  brick  oven  faces  the  en- 
trance, and  on  one  side  of  the  tent  is  a  small  vegetable 
garden ;  beyond  are  some  round  holes,  faced  with  stone 
and  cement,  in  which  grain  is  stored.  In  almost 
every  large  duar  there  is  one  tent  standing  a  little 
apart,  occupied  by  the  school-master,  who  receives  a 
salary  of  a  dollar  a  month,  beside  a  good  many  pro- 
visions. All  the  boys  are  sent  there  to  repeat  over 
and  over  again  the  same  verses  from  the  Koran,  and 
when  these  are  learned  by  heart,  to  write  them  on  pieces 
of  wood ;  but  as  the  majority  of  the  pupils  leave  school 
before  they  have  learned  to  read,  in  order  to  assist 
their  parents  at  their  work,  they  soon  forget  what 
little  they  have  learned.  Those  few  who  are  willing 
and  able  to  study  keep  on  until  they  are  twenty,  and 
then  go  to  some  town  to  complete  their  education, 
eventually  becoming  talebs,  which  signifies  notary  or 


BENI-HASSAN.  209 

lawyer,  and  is  the  same  thing  as  priest,  since  with 
the  Mohammedans  the  civil  and  religious  law  is  iden- 
tical.    The  life  of  the  duar  is  of  the  simplest  descrip- 
tion.     At    daybreak   every  one  gets  up,   says  his 
prayers,  the  cows  are  milked,  the  butter  made  and 
the  sour  milk  that  is  left,  drunk ;  for  drinking-cups 
they  use  conch  and  limpet-shells,  which  they  pur- 
chase from  the  people  living  on  the  coast.     Then  the 
men  go  to  their  work  in  the  fields,  not  returning  until 
towards  nightfall.     The  women  meantime  carry  wood 
and  water,  grind   flour,  spin  the  coarse  fabrics  in 
which  they  and  their  husbands  are  clothed,  twist  rope 
for  their  tents  from  the  fibre  of  the  dwarf  palm ;  send 
their  husbands'  mid-day  food  to  them  and  prepare  the 
Kuskussu  for  the  evening.     The  Kuskussu  is  mixed 
with   beans,  gourds,  onions  and    other  vegetables  j 
sometimes  it  is  sweetened,  spiced  and  dressed  with  a 
meat  sauce,  and  on  feast  days  meat  is  served  with  it. 
On  the  return  of  the  men,  supper  is  eaten,  and  at 
sunset  everyone  goes  to  bed ;  but  sometimes  one  of 
the  old  men  will  tell  a  story  after  supper,  seated  in 
the   middle  of  the   family  circle.     Throughout  the 
night  the  duar  is  plunged  in  profound  silence  and 
darkness ;  only  a  few  families  will  occasionally  leave 
lanterns  burning  before  their  tents  to  guide  any  way- 
farer who  may  have  missed  his  path.     The  dress  of 
both   men  and  women  consists  of  a  cotton   tunic, 
fastened  about  the  waist  5  a  cloak  and  a  very  coarse 
Twi/ik.     As  the  latter  is  only  washed  once  or  twice  a 
VOL.  I.— 14 


210  BENI-HASSAN. 

year,  on  the  occasion  of  some  very  great  solemnity, 
it  is  usually  the  color  of  the  owner's  skin,  or  still 
darker.  More  pains  are  taken,  however,  in  the 
care  of  the  body,  since,  until  the  ablutions  commanded 
by  the  Koran  have  been  duly  performed,  no  one  can 
say  his  prayers.  Most  of  the  women  bathe  the  entire 
person  every  day,  retiring  for  the  purpose  beneath 
the  &a*&-covered  tripod ;  but,  nevertheless,  working 
and  sleeping  as  they  do,  they  are  always  dirty  to  an 
incredible  degree,  and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact, 
oh,  wonder  of  wonders !  that  they  use  soap.  Many 
of  the  duar  Arabs  pass  their  spare  time  in  playing 
cards,  and  a  favorite  amusement  among  the  men  is 
to  lie  flat  on  their  backs  and  tell  their  children  stories  j 
but  as  the  latter  grow  up  their  parents  are  apt  to  be- 
come indifferent  towards  them,  a  feeling  returned  by 
the  children  on  their  part.  Many  a  duar  boy  gets 
to  be  ten  or  fourteen  years  of  age  without  ever  hav- 
ing seen  a  house,  and  it  is  amusing  to  hear  the  ac- 
counts of  Moors  or  Europeans,  who  have  taken  them 
into  service  in  their  houses  in  town,  of  their  bewilder- 
ment on  first  finding  themselves  in  a  room;  how 
they  feel  the  walls  and  stamp  on  the  floor,  and  with 
what  intense  delight  they  look  out  of  the  windows 
and  run  down  the  stairs. 

The  great  events  in  these  roving  villages  are  the 
weddings.  The  relatives  and  friends  of  the  bride 
conduct  her,  with  much  shouting  and  many  discharges 
of  fire-arms,  to  the  duar  of  the  groom  seated  upon  the 


BENI-HASSAN.  211 

back  of  a  camel  and  entirely  enveloped  in  a  white  or 
light-blue  cloak.  She  is  perfumed,  her  nails  are 
stained  with  henne,  her  eyebrows  blackened  with 
burnt  cork,  and  she  is  usually  fattened  up  for  the 
occasion  with  a  certain  herb  called  ebba,  much  used 
by  young  girls.  The  groom's  duar^  for  its  part,  in- 
vites all  the  neighboring  duars  to  attend  the  festivity, 
as  many  as  from  one  to  two  hundred  men,  mounted 
and  armed  with  guns,  often  responding  to  the  invita- 
tion. The  bride  dismounts  before  the  house  of  her 
future  husband,  and,  seated  upon  a  saddle  padded  and 
decked  with  flowers,  witnesses  the  fete.  While  the 
men  go  through  a  "  powder  play "  the  women  and 
girls  form  a  circle  in  front  of  her,  and  dance  to  the 
music  of  a  pipe  and  drum  all  around  a  lio/ik  spread  on 
the  ground,  into  which  every  guest  throws  a  piece  of 
money  in  passing  for  the  use  of  the  young  couple, 
while  a  crier  announces  the  amount  of  the  gift  in 
stentorian  tones  and  invokes  a  blessing  on  the  giver. 
Towards  evening  the  dancing  and  firing  cease,  the 
guests  all  seat  themselves  on  the  ground,  and  enor- 
mous dishes  of  Kuskussu,  roast  chicken,  mutton 
cooked  on  a  spit,  sweetmeats  and  fruit  are  handed 
around,  the  supper  lasting  until  midnight.  The  next 
day  the  bride,  dressed  all  in  white,  her  hood  drawn 
down  and  a  red  scarf  wrapped  around  her  head  so  as 
to  cover  the  mouth,  makes  a  tour  among  the  neigh- 
boring duars  to  collect  more  money,  accompanied  by 
her  friends  and  relatives.  After  this  the  groom  goes 


212  BENI-HASSAN. 

back  to  his  toil  in  the  fields,  the  bride  betakes  herself 
to  the  millstone,  and  love  flies  away. 

Dancing  also  forms  a  part  of  the  ceremonies  when 
any  one  dies.  The  nearest  relative  of  the  deceased 
recounts  his  virtues,  while  the  others  crowd  around 
dancing  with  mournful  gestures  and  postures,  cover- 
ing themselves  with  mud,  tearing  their  hair  and 
scratching  their  faces  ;  then  the  body  is  washed, 
wrapped  in  a  piece  of  new  cloth  and  borne  on  a  lit- 
ter to  the  cemetery,  where  it  is  buried,  resting  on  the 
right  side,  with  the  face  turned  to  the  east.  Such  is 
their  manner  of  life  and  such  are  the  customs  which 
are,  so  to  speak,  patent ;  but  the  inner  existence,  who 
knows  anything  of  that  ?  Who  can  disentangle  the 
threads  from  which  the  web  of  duar  life  is  woven  ? 
Who  knows  how  the  first  words  of  love  are  spoken  j 
what  forms  food  for  gossip  j  in  what  strange  manner, 
with  what  strange  details,  jealousy  and  envy  are  born 
and  resisted ;  what  virtues  shine  ;  what  sacrifices  are 
made  ;  what  abominable  passions  hold  sway  between 
those  four  canvas  walls  ?  Who  can  trace  the  origin 
of  their  astounding  superstitions  I  Who  can  sort 
that  odd  medley  of  traditions,  half-pagan,  half-Chris- 
tian ? — the  cross  marked  on  the  skin,  vague  beliefs 
in  the  existence  of  satyrs,  the  prints  of  whose  forked 
feet  they  find  on  the  ground ;  the  infant  carried  in 
triumph  when  the  grain  first  begins  to  shoot;  the 
name  of  Mary  invoked  in  aid  of  women  during  their 
confinement ;  those  circular  dances  so  suggestive  of 


BENI-HASSAN.  213 

the  rites  of  sun-worshippers.  One  thing  only  is  per- 
fectly clear  about  them,  and  that  is  their  poverty. 
They  live  on  the  scanty  products  of  poorly  cultivated 
land,  out  of  which  must  also  be  squeezed  enough  to 
satisfy  the  heavy  and  variable  demands  of  the  sheik 
or  chief  of  the  dwxr,  a  functionary  elected  by  them- 
selves, who  is  directly  under  the  orders  of  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  district.  A  tenth  part  of  the  crops  must 
be  paid  either  in  money  or  in  kind  to  the  Governor, 
and  an  average  of  one  franc  for  every  beast.  A 
hundred  francs  a  year  is  demanded  for  every  piece 
of  ground  requiring  the  labor  of  two  oxen,  while  on 
all  the  great  annual  feasts  they  are  obliged  to  make 
the  Sultan  a  present  amounting  to  nearly  five  francs 
for  every  tent.  They  pay  out  money  or  furnish  beasts 
as  the  Governor  may  decree,  whenever  the  Sultan,  or 
a  pasha,  or  an  embassy,  or  a  troop  of  soldiers  passes 
through  the  district.  And  if  with  all  this  any  one 
does  manage  to  save  a  little  money  it  only  exposes 
him  to  the  extortions  and  persecutions  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, not  veiled  nor  excused  by  any  shadow  of  pre- 
text, but  conducted  with  open  violence.  To  be  re- 
puted wealthy  is  a  real  misfortune,  and  he  who  has  a 
little  hoard  buries  it  in  the  ground,  spends  it  secretly 
and  feigns  poverty  and  hunger.  No  one  will  accept 
a  rusty  coin  in  payment,  although  he  may  know  it  to 
be  perfectly  good,  for  fear  he  may  be  thought  to  have 
buried  treasure,  and  so  be  exposed  to  persecution. 
When  a  rich  man  dies,  his  relatives,  in  order  to  avert 


214  BENI-HASSAN. 

the  plundering  of  his  property  by  the  Governor, 
make  him  a  present.  Presents  are  made  by  appli- 
cants for  justice,  to  avert  oppression,  to  avoid  being 
reduced  to  starvation  ;  and  when  at  length  famine 
grips  them,  and  blinded  by  desperation  these  unfor- 
tunate creatures  pull  down  their  tents,  seize  their 
guns  and  raise  the  cry  of  revolt — what  happens? 
The  Sultan  lets  loose  three  thousand  furies  on  horse- 
back, who  forthwith  sow  death  throughout  the  rebel- 
lious province.  Heads  are  cut  off,  herds  stolen, 
women  abducted,  crops  fired,  the  land  reduced  to  a 
wilderness  of  blood  and  ashes,  and  the  messengers 
returning  to  the  seat  of  government  announce  that 
the  rebellion  is  crushed.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
spreads,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  Governor's  efforts  the 
rebels  finally  succeed  in  routing  the  enemy's  forces 
and  remaining  masters  of  the  field,  what  is  gained 
beyond  a  brief  period  of  liberty  at  the  cost  of  thous- 
ands of  lives  ?  They  elect  another  Sultan,  bring  on 
a  dynastic  war  between  the  different  districts,  and 
quickly  find  themselves  in  the  grasp  of  a  despotism 
still  more  severe  than  that  from  which  they  broke 
loose;  and  so  it  has  been  going  on  for  the  past  ten 
centuries. 

At  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  the  cara- 
van got  under  way,  accompanied  by  the  three  hun- 
dred horsemen  of  Beni-Hassen  and  their  Governor, 
Abd- Allah — servant  of  God.  Throughout  the  entire 
morning  we  continued  to  travel  across  the  plain  be- 


BENI-HASSAN.  215 

tween  fields  of  barley,  wheat  and  maize,  broken  by 
wide  patches  of  wild  fennel  and  flowers,  and  dotted 
over  with  groups  of  trees  and  black  tents,  which 
looked  like  the  great  heaps  of  coal  one  sees  here  and 
there  on  the  Tuscan  downs.  We  saw  many  more 
herds,  horses,  camels  and  parties  of  Arabs  than  on 
any  previous  day.  Far  ahead  of  us  we  could  descry 
a  chain  of  pale-gray  mountains  on  the  horizon,  and 
in  the  middle  distance,  between  them  and  the  cara- 
van, two  kubbas,  the  first  illuminated  by  the  sun's 
rays,  the  other  barely  visible.  They  were  the  kub- 
605  of  Sidi-Gueddar  and  Sidi-Hassem  respectively, 
and  between  them  runs  the  boundary-line  of  the 
Beni-Hassan  district ;  the  camp  was  to  be  pitched 
close  by  the  most  distant  of  the  two.  Long,  how- 
ever, before  we  had  reached  this  spot  Governor  Sidi- 
Abd-Allah,  who  from  the  moment  of  setting  out  had 
appeared  thoughtful  and  ill  at  ease,  approached  the 
ambassador  and  made  signs  that  he  wished  to  speak 
to  him.  Mohammed  Ducali  conducted  the  interview. 
"Will  the  Italian  ambassador  pardon  me,"  said  the 
haughty  Governor,  "  if  I  should  be  so  bold  as  to  ask 
his  permission  to  turn  back  with  my  escort  1" 

The  ambassador  asked  why  he  wished  to  do  so. 
"  Because,"  replied  Sidi-Abd- Allah,  knitting  his  fierce 
black  eyebrows,  "  my  house  is  in  danger."  Nothing 
less !  What  a  charming  task  it  must  be  to  govern 
the  Beni-Hassans ! 

The  ambassador  consenting,  Sidi-Abd-AUah  took 


216  BENI-HASSAN. 

his  hand  and  pressed  it  to  his  breast  with  an  expres- 
sion of  the  liveliest  gratitude  j  then  wheeling  round, 
the  entire  varicolored,  ragged,  horrible  throng 
spurred  off  at  full  speed,  and  in  a  few  moments  were 
no  more  than  a  cloud  of  dust  on  the  horizon. 


SIDI-HASSEM. 


(217) 


SIDI-HASSEM. 


THE  district  into  which  we  were  about  to  enter  is 
a  sort  of  colony  divided  into  farms  among  the  fam- 
ilies of  a  large  number  of  soldiers,  in  each  of  which 
military  duty  is  imposed  upon  every  male  child,  and 
every  boy  born,  so  to  speak,  a  soldier,  renders  such 
service  as  he  is  able  from  childhood,  receiving  a  fixed 
stipend  even  before  he  can  carry  a  gun.  These  mili- 
tary families  are,  moreover,  exempt  from  taxation, 
and  their  estates  are  inalienable  so  long  as  the  male 
succession  continues.  Thus  they  constitute  a  regu- 
lar military  organization,  disciplined  and  faithful,  by 
whose  aid  the  Governor  can  tranquilly  "  devour,"  as 
the  local  phraseology  has  it,  a  rebel  province  without 
fear  of  the  sword  he  wields  being  turned  against  him- 
self. It  might  be  termed  a  corps  of  military  tax-col- 
lectors, which  brings  much  more  in  to  tne  Governor 
than  it  costs  him  to  keep,  since  in  Morocco  the  army 
is  particularly  useful  to  the  department  of  finance, 
and  the  principal  tool  used  by  the  administrative 
machine  is  the  sword. 

Hardly  had  we  crossed  the  border  of  Beni-Hassan 
when  we  saw  a  crowd  of  horsemen  in  the  distance 

(219) 


220  SEDI-HASSEM. 

coming  towards  us  at  a  gallop,  preceded  by  a  green 
flag.  An  unusual  circumstance  was  their  being 
ranged  in  two  long  lines,  one  behind  the  other,  with 
the  officers  in  front.  When  they  were  about  twenty 
feet  distant  from  us  they  halted  suddenly  and  simul- 
taneously, and  their  commander,  a  stout  old  man  with 
a  white  beard,  amiable  expression  and  an  extremely 
high  turban,  held  his  hand  out  to  the  ambassador, 
saying :  "  You  are  welcome  !  You  are  welcome !" 
and  then  to  us,  "  Welcome,  welcome,  welcome." 

We  then  proceeded  on  our  way.  These  new  cava- 
liers were  very  different  from  those  of  Beni-Hassan ; 
they  had  cleaner  clothes  and  brighter  arms,  almost 
all  their  yellow  slippers  were  embroidered  in  red, 
their  swords  had  rhinoceros-horn  handles,  and  they 
wore  light-blue  cloaks,  white  caftans  and  green  belts. 
Many  of  them  were  quite  advanced  in  years,  but  it 
was  that  hardy  form  of  old  age  which  seems  likely  to 
be  indefinitely  prolonged  ;  others,  again,  were  very 
young.  I  recollect  one  couple  in  particular  who  could 
not  have  been  more  than  ten  years  old,  handsome  and 
full  of  life.  They  looked  at  us  smilingly,  seeming  to  say, 
"  Well,  now,  you  have  not  such  hangmen's  faces,  after 
all,  as  we  were  led  to  expect."  There  was  one  old 
negro  of  such  gigantic  stature  that  had  he  stretched 
his  feet  down  out  of  the  stirrups  he  would  almost 
have  stood  on  the  ground.  One  of  the  officers 
wore  stockings !  In  about  a  half  an  hour  we  met 
another  troop,  carrying  a  red  flag  and  commanded  by 


feet  distant  from  ua 
taneously,  and  their 
a  white  beard,  amia 


saying :  H  You  are  welcome  !    You  are 
tod  then  to  us,  "  Welcome,  wc4conie,  wcl 


ter  arms,  alm< 


Soldier  of  the  Sultan 


SIDI-HASSEM.  221 

another  old  Kaid,  who  fell  in  with  the  first,  and  later 
on  still  another,  and  so  on,  sometimes  only  a  half 
dozen  men  in  the  party,  sometimes  many  more,  each 
carrying  its  flag  and  on  its  way  to  swell  the  ranks  of 
the  escort.  When  the  number  was  finally  complete 
the  usual  exercises  began.  It  was  easy  to  see  that 
these  were  regulars ;  they  went  through  their  manceu- 
vres  with  far  more  precision  than  any  whom  we  had 
yet  seen.  One  of  these  was  new  to  us — one  soldier 
dashed  ahead  with  loosened  bridle-rein  ;  another  fol- 
lowed close  after  him  also  on  a  full  run ;  all  at  once 
the  leader  rose  in  his  stirrups,  and  turning  entirely 
around,  fired  his  musket  into  the  other's  breast,  the 
latter,  at  the  same  instant,  firing  into  his  side,  so  that 
had  the  guns  been  loaded  they  must  have  dropped 
dead  simultaneously.  Once  a  horse  fell  when  going 
at  full  speed,  precipitating  his  rider  over  his  head  to 
such  a  distance  that  we  thought  he  surely  must  be 
killed,  instead  of  which  he  leaped  to  his  feet  and  re- 
gained his  saddle  in  a  twinkling,  returning  to  the 
charge  more  furiously  than  ever.  Each  one  shouted 
his  own  peculiar  cry.  (t  Look  out !  Look  out !" 
"  You  are  all  witnesses  !"  "  It  is  I !"  "  Here  comes 
death  !"  "  Wretched  me  !"  (one  who  had  missed  his 
aim).  "  Make  room  for  the  barber !"  (it  was  the  sol- 
diers' barber),  and  one  had  the  curious  cry,  "  To  my 
painted  one  !"  which  made  all  his  companions  laugh. 
The  interpreter  explained  that  what  he  meant  was, 
"  to  my  sweetheart,  who  is  as  beautiful  as  a  painting," 


222  SIDI-HASSEM. 

an  odd  thing  for  people  who  not  only  have  the  great- 
est aversion  to  any  representation  of  the  human  form, 
but  actually  have  no  very  clear  idea  of  what  a  paint- 
ing is  like.  The  two  boys  charged  together,  shouting, 
"  Make  way  for  the  brothers  !"  and  then  fired  into  the 
ground,  with  heads  bent  so  low  as  nearly  to  touch  their 
saddles.  In  this  manner  we  approached  the  Jcufoba 
of  Sidi-Hassem,  where  the  camp  was  to  be  pitched. 

Poor  Hamed  Ben-Kasen  Buhamei !  Until  now  I 
have  only  alluded  to  you  in  passing,  but  as  I  think 
of  how  I  saw  you  that  morning  helping  the  servants 
to  drive  in  the  stakes  of  the  ambassador's  tent  I  feel 
that  I  must  give  some  expression  to  my  admiration 
for  and  gratitude  towards  you.  What  a  kindly  gen- 
eral he  was  !  From  the  day  we  set  out  he  had  never 
yet  had  one  of  the  soldiers  or  servants  whipped ; 
never  for  an  instant  displayed  the  slightest  ill-humor ; 
had  always  been  the  first  out  of  his  tent  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  last  to  go  to  bed  at  night ;  had  never  let 
it  appear  to  even  the  most  observing  eye  that  his 
salary  of  forty  francs  a  month  struck  him  as  being  a 
little  low  |  he  had  not  the  least  shadow  of  self-im- 
portance ;  he  would  help  us  to  mount,  examine  our 
saddles  to  see  that  they  were  firm  ;  give  our  stubborn 
mules  a  blow  in  passing ;  was  always  at  hand  for 
everyone  and  everything ;  threw  himself  down  beside 
our  tents  like  any  humble  mule  driver ;  smiled  back 
whenever  he  saw  us  smile ;  offered  us  Kuskussu ; 
leaped  to  his  feet  at  the  ambassador's  slightest  motion, 


SIDI-HASSEM.  223 

like  a  puppet  on  springs  5  said  his  prayers  five  times 
a  day  like  a  good  Mussulman ;  counted  the  eggs  of 
the  mona ;  oversaw  the  slaughter  of  the  sheep ; 
looked  at  the  artists'  sketch-books  without  giving  a 
sign  that  he  was  scandalized;  and  was,  in  short,  as  I 
should  suppose,  the  man  the  most  ad  hoc  for  this  par- 
ticular mission  whom  his  majesty,  the  Sultan,  could 
possibly  have  selected  from  among  the  entire  ranks 
of  his  bare-foot  generals.  Hamed-Ben  Kasen  fre- 
quently recalled  with  pride  the  fact  that  his  father 
had  been  a  general  in  the  war  with  Spain,  and  he 
sometimes  spoke  of  his  own  sons,  who  were  with  their 
mother  at  Mequinez,  her  native  city. 

"  It  is  three  months,"  he  said  one  day,  with  a  sigh, 
"  since  I  last  saw  them." 

Perhaps  what  he  really  meant  was  a  since  I  last 
saw  her,"  but  he  said  "  them  "  from  modesty. 

After  having  witnessed  the  presentation  of  the 
mona — including  on  that  occasion  a  prodigious  dish 
of  Kuskussu,  which  five  Arabs  could  barely  carry — 
we  took  refuge  as  usual  in  our  tents  to  wait  until  the 
daily  104°  in  the  shade  should  be  over.  The  ther- 
mometer stayed  at  that  point  until  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  during  that  time  the  camp  was  plunged 
in  absolute  silence ;  at  four  it  came  to  life  again. 
The  artists  took  up  their  brushes ;  the  doctor  inter- 
viewed his  patients  ;  one  would  go  off  to  take  a  bath ; 
another  to  shoot  at  a  mark ;  another  to  pay  a  call  in 
one  of  the  other  tents ;  another  to  watch  the  exer- 


224  SIDI-HASSEM. 

cises  of  the  escort ;  another  to  see  the  cook  wrestling 
with  Africa  5  another  to  visit  a  neighboring  duar ;  and 
thus  everyone  had  something  to  tell  about  when  we 
all  met  at  dinner,  and  the  conversation  was  like  a 
display  of  fireworks.  That  evening  I  went  with  the 
commander  to  view  the  mano3uvres  of  the  escort  in  a 
large  open  space  near  the  camp.  About  a  hundred 
Arabs  were  seated  in  a  long  line  on  the  edge  of  a 
ditch  looking  on.  No  sooner  did  they  espy  us  than 
some  of  them  got  up  and,  followed  by  others,  came 
after  us,  until  at  last  they  all  were  crowding  behind 
us.  We  pretended  not  to  notice  them,  and  for  a  few 
minutes  no  one  uttered  a  sound.  Then  one  said 
something,  we  could  not  make  out  what,  that  made 
the  others  all  laugh  ;  then  another  spoke,  and  then  a 
third,  and  so  on,  and  at  every  remark  there-  would  be 
a  fresh  burst  of  merriment.  It  was  perfectly  clear 
that  they  were  laughing  at  us,  and  we  soon  noticed  that 
the  observations  and  mirth  corresponded  with  our  ges- 
tures and  certain  inflexions  of  the  voice.  It  was  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world.  They  thought  us 
ridiculous,  but  what  were  they  saying  ?  This  we  were 
very  curious  to  know.  Just  then  Signor  Morteo  passed 
by.  Making  a  slight  sign  to  attract  his  attention,  I 
begged  him  to  keep  his  ears  open  without  appearing 
to  do  so,  and  to  give  me  a  literal  translation  of  the 
jests  of  those  big  children.  One  of  them  said  some- 
thing almost  immediately  which,  as  usual,  provoked 
much  laughter. 


SIDI-HASSEM.  225 

"He  says,"  translated  Signer  Morteo,  "that  he 
does  not  see  what  purpose  is  served  by  our  coat-tails, 
unless  they  are  to  conceal  real  tails." 

A  moment  later  there  was  another  remark  and  an- 
other laugh. 

"  He  says  that  the  part  at  the  back  of  your  head 
is  where  the  inhabitants  perform  their  ldb-el-barod" 

A  third  remark,  and  a  third  shout  of  mirth. 

"  He  says  how  odd  these  Christians  are.  In  order 
to  appear  taller  they  put  jugs  on  their  heads  and 
props  under  their  heels." 

Just  then  one  of  the  camp  dogs  came  running  up 
and  crouched  at  our  feet.  Some  one  said  something, 
but  the  laughter  that  followed  sounded  a  little  forced. 

"  This  is  going  too  far,"  said  Signer  Morteo.  "  He 
said  that  the  dog  had  come  to  lie  down  with  his  fel- 
low-dogs ;  it  is  time  to  settle  them ;"  and  so  saying  he 
wheeled  about  suddenly  and  said  a  few  words  in 
Arabic  in  a  warning  voice.  It  was  like  a  clap  of 
thunder ;  a  moment  later  not  one  of  them  was  to  be 
seen.  Poor  fellows  !  let  us  be  just  to  them.  Setting 
aside  the  charges  concerning  the  "  inhabitants  "  and 
the  brotherhood  with  the  dog,  they  surely  had  a  per- 
fect right  to  say  about  us  what  we,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  were  struck  by  every  time  we  compared  our- 
selves with  them.  Ten  times  a  day,  when  those  superb 
horsemen  were  wheeling  about  us,  we  would  say  to 
one  another,  "Oh,  yes,  we  are  civilized,  no  doubt, 
and  we  represent  a  great  nation,  and  we  have  more 
VOL.  I. —15 


226  SLDI-HASSEM. 

science  in  our  ten  heads  than  is  to  be  found  in  the 
entire  Empire  of  the  Sherifs,  but  astride  of  these 
mules,  dressed  in  these  garments  and  these  colors  and 
these  hats,  great  heavens !  what  figures  we  cut  be- 
side them !"  Ah,  how  true  it  was  !  The  very  least 
of  those  tattered  riders  was  more  graceful,  more 
stately,  more  calculated  to  excite  a  woman's  admira- 
tion than  all  the  dandies  of  Europe  put  together. 
Another  curious  little  scene  took  place  that  evening 
at  table.  The  two  oldest  Raids  in  the  escort  came 
to  see  the  ambassador,  and  sat  down  beside  him.  On 
being  asked  if  they  had  ever  heard  of  Italy  they  both 
replied  in  the  same  breath,  and  with  violent  gesticu- 
lations, "  Never  !  Never  !"  as  though  eager  to  deny 
some  charge  that  had  been  preferred  against  them. 
Then  the  ambassador,  with  the  patience  of  a  school- 
master, gave  them  some  geographical  and  political 
points  concerning  our  mysterious  country,  to  which 
they  listened  wide-eyed  and  open-mouthed,  like  two 
children. 

"  And  what  is  the  population  of  your  country  ?" 
asked  one. 

"  Twenty-five  millions,"  replied  the  ambassador. 

They  made  a  gesture  of  amazement. 

"  And  Morocco,"  said  the  other,  "  how  many  mil- 
lions has  it  f 

"  Four,"  answered  the  ambassador,  to  sound  them. 

"  Only  four !"  they  exclaimed  ingenuously,  gazing 
at  one  another. 


SEDI-HASSEM.  227 

Those  two  worthy  generals  knew  no  more  about 
Morocco  than  they  did  about  Italy,  and  no  more  pos- 
sibly about  their  own  district  than  the  rest  of  Morocco. 
Before  going  they  said  something  still  more  amusing. 
Signor  Morteo  showed  them  a  photograph  of  his  wife, 
saying : 

"  Allow  me  to  present  my  wife." 

They  looked  at  it  again  and  again  with  the  great- 
est interest,  and  then  said : 

"  And  the  others  !» 

Either  they  did  not  know,  or,  as  is  more  likely,  had 
forgotten,  that  Christians  are  unlucky  enough  to  be 
allowed  only  one  apiece. 

Sleep  that  night  was  out  of  the  question.  The 
cocks  crowed,  the  dogs  barked,  the  sheep  bleated, 
the  horses  neighed,  the  sentinels  sang,  the  water- 
sellers  rang  their  bells,  the  soldiers  quarreled  over 
the  redistribution  of  the  mona,  the  servants  tripped 
continually  over  the  tent-ropes,  the  camp  seemed  to 
be  an  open  market.  But  there  remained  only  four 
more  days  of  travel,  and  we  had  a  magic  word  that 
consoled  us  for  everything — "  Fez  !" 


ZEGGOTA. 


(229) 


ZEGGOTA. 


WE  made  an  early  start  for  Zeggota,  inspirited  by 
the  thought  that  on  that  day  we  should  behold  the 
mountains  of  Fez  in  the  distance.  There  was  an 
autumnal  freshness  in  the  air,  and  a  light  mist  ob- 
scured the  surrounding  country.  A  crowd  of  Arabs 
wrapped  in  their  cloaks  formed  two  wings  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  camp.  The  soldiers  of  the  escort  were 
huddled  together  in  a  close  chilly  group  behind  us, 
and  the  children  of  the  neighboring  duars  gazed  out 
with  sleepy  eyes  from  behind  the  tents  and  hedges. 
Ere  long,  however,  all  this  changed,  the  sun  came 
out,  spectators  crowded  around  us,  the  horsemen  scat- 
tered in  all  directions,  the  air  resounded  with  shouts 
and  the  rapid  reports  of  fire-arms,  and  everything 
became  suddenly  bright,  animated,  full  of  life  and 
color,  while  the  autumnal  cold  was  succeeded,  as  is 
always  the  case  in  that  climate,  by  the  burning  heat 
of  summer.  Among  my  notes  of  that  morning  I  find 
one  which  says  laconically  :  "  Grasshoppers,  sample 
of  Selam's  eloquence."  I  remember,  in  fact,  to  have 
noticed  a  field  some  distance  off  that  seemed  to  be  in 
motion,  an  effect  produced  by  an  enormous  number 

(231) 


232  ZEGGOTA. 

of  green  grasshoppers  coining  towards  us  in  leaps. 
Selam,  who  happened  to  be  riding  beside  me  just 
then,  gave  me  an  admirably  picturesque  description 
of  the  incursions  of  those  terrible  insects,  which  I 
remember  word  for  word  5  but  how  can  I  possibly 
render  the  effect  of  his  gestures,  his  expression  and 
the  tones  of  his  voice,  which  really  told  more  than 
the  words  themselves.  "  It  is  frightful,  signer  ;  they 
come  from  over  there,"  pointing  to  the  south,  "  like  a 
black  cloud;  the  noise  is  heard  from  afar.  They  come, 
they  come,  and  at  their  head  their  Sultan,  the  Sultan 
Jeraad,  who  leads  them  on  ;  they  cover  the  roads, 
the  fields,  houses,  duars,  forests.  The  cloud  grows 
larger  and  larger,  on,  on,  on,  gnawing  and  consum- 
ing ;  over  rivers,  over  ditches,  over  walls,  through 
fire  5  the  grass  is  destroyed,  the  flowers,  the  leaves, 
the  fruit,  the  grain,  the  bark  of  the  trees ;  on  and  on, 
no  one  can  stop  them,  not  flaming  tribes,  not  the 
Sultan  with  his  army,  not  all  the  people  of  Morocco 
assembled  together.  Heaps  of  dead  grasshoppers. 
Forward  go  the  living.  Do  ten  die  ?  A  hundred 
are  born.  Do  a  hundred  die  ?  A  thousand  are  born. 
Such  sights  at  Tangier !  streets  covered,  gardens  cov- 
ered, sea-shore  covered,  sea  covered,  everything 
green,  everything  in  motion ;  living,  dead,  decayed, 
offensive ;  a  plague,  a  pestilence,  a  curse  from  God!" 
And  this  is  really  so.  The  fetid  odor  arising  from 
myriads  of  dead  grasshoppers  sometimes  produces  a 
contagious  form  of  fever ;  and,  to  cite  one  instance, 


ZEGGOTA.  233 

the  terrible  plague  which  in  1799  fairly  depopulated 
both  the  towns  and  country  of  Bombay  broke  out 
just  after  one  of  their  visitations.  When  the  ad- 
vance guard  of  the  invading  army  appears  the  Arabs 
go  forward  to  meet  it,  in  parties  of  four  or  five  hun- 
dred, with  sticks,  clubs  and  firebrands,  but  only  suc- 
ceed in  forcing  the  enemy  to  deviate  somewhat  from 
its  course  ;  and  it  occasionally  happens  that  when 
one  tribe  drives  them  back  thus  from  their  own  into 
the  district  of  a  neighboring  tribe,  the  grasshopper 
war  is  converted  into  a  civil  war.  The  only  thing 
that  frees  the  country  from  this  curse  is  a  favorable 
wind;  this  blows  them  into  the  sea,  where  they  drown 
and  are  swept  up  on  the  beach  for  days  afterwards 
in  great  heaps.  When  the  favorable  wind  still  de- 
lays, the  only  possible  consolation  left  the  inhabitants 
is  to  eat  their  enemies  ;  this  they  do  before  they  have 
laid  their  eggs,  boiling  them  and  adding  a  seasoning 
of  salt,  pepper  and  vinegar.  They  taste  a  little  like 
sea-crabs,  and  as  many  as  four  hundred  can  be  eaten 
in  a  single  day. 

About  two  miles  from  camp  we  overtook  that  part 
of  the  caravan  which  was  bearing  Victor  Emmanuel's 
presents  to  Fez.  White  camels  were  harnessed  to- 
gether, two  by  two,  in  tandem  fashion,  by  long  poles 
attached  to  either  side  of  the  saddle,  from  which 
swung  the  cases ;  they  were  in  charge  of  some  Arabs 
on  foot  and  some  mounted  soldiers,  and  at  their  head 
was  a  wagon  drawn  by  two  oxen,  the  onlv  wagon  we 


234  ZEGGOTA. 

had  seen  in  Morocco !  It  had  been  especially  made 
at  El  Araish  upon  the  model,  I  should  say,  of  the  first 
vehicle  that  ever  appeared  upon  the  earth's  surface ; 
squat,  heavy,  ill-formed,  with  wheels  composed  of 
solid  blocks  of  wood,  and  the  most  curious  and  absurd- 
looking  harness  that  could  possibly  be  imagined.  But 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  duars,  most  of  whom  had 
in  all  probability  never  seen  a  wheeled  vehicle  before, 
it  was  a  marvel.  They  ran  to  behold  it  from  all  di- 
rections, pointed  it  out  to  each  other,  followed  behind 
and  walked  in  front  of  it  with  visible  excitement. 
Even  our  mules,  unaccustomed  to  the  sight  of  such 
objects,  showed  great  reluctance  to  pass  it,  some 
planting  themselves  stubbornly  on  their  fore  feet  and 
others  wheeling  completely  around.  Selam  himself 
regarded  it  with  a  certain  complacency,  as  though 
saying,  "  That  was  made  in  our  country;"  and  this 
was  excusable,  seeing  that  in  all  Morocco  there  are 
very  likely  no  more  wagons  than  pianos,  which,  if 
the  estimate  of  a  French  consul  is  correct,  would  re- 
duce the  number  to  about  a  dozen.  There  seems, 
indeed,  to  be  a  certain  antipathy  to  vehicles  of  every 
kind.  The  Tangier  authorities,  for  example,  forbade 
Prince  Frederick,  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  when  he  was 
there  in  1839,  to  ride  out  in  a  carriage.  The  Prince 
wrote  to  the  Sultan  offering  to  have  the  principal 
streets  paved  at  his  own  expense,  provided  the  per- 
mission refused  by  the  authorities  were  granted  him. 
"  I  will  grant  it  most  willingly,"  replied  the  Sultan, 


ZEGGOTA.  235 

"but  upon  one  condition — that  the  carriage  shall 
have  no  wheels,  since  as  Protector  of  the  Faithful  I 
cannot  permit  my  subjects  to  be  exposed  to  the  risk 
of  being  run  over  by  a  Christian."  Whereupon  the 
Prince,  to  turn  the  whole  thing  into  ridicule,  took 
him  at  his  word,  and  there  are  people  in  Tangier  now 
who  remember  seeing  him  going  about  the  town  in 
a  carriage  without  wheels,  suspended  between  two 
mules! 

At  last  we  reached  that  blessed  hill  for  which  for 
three  days  past  the  caravan  had  been  looking  with  such 
longing  impatience.  After  making  a  tedious  ascent 
we  passed  through  a  narrow  gorge  called  in  Arabic 
Ben  Tinea,  which  we  were  obliged  to  take  single  file, 
and  came  out  above  a  charming  valley,  flowery  and 
solitary,  into  which  the  caravan  descended  in  festive 
style,  filling  the  air  with  shouts  and  bursts  of  song. 
At  the  foot  of  the  valley  we  came  upon  another  body 
of  soldiers  belonging  to  the  military  colonies,  come  to 
relieve  the  first.  There  were  a  hundred  of  them, 
very  old  and  very  young,  dark,  long-haired,  some  of 
them  mounted  on  enormous  horses  with  housings  of 
unusual  splendor.  Their  Raid,  Abou-ben-Gileli,  was 
a  sturdy  old  man  of  severe  aspect  and  curt  manner, 
of  wh^m,  and  of  his  soldiers,  one  might  have  said  as 
Don  Abbondio  did  of  the  anonymous  leader  and  the 
assassins :  u  I  can  well  understand  that  to  control 
such  faces  as  these  nothing  less  is  needed  than  such  a 
face  as  that."  Without  so  much  as  a  glance  at  the 


236  ZEGOOTA. 

fields  of  ripening  wheat  and  barley  that  lined  the  road 
on  either  side,  the  soldiers  urged  their  horses  for- 
ward, and  scattering  in  all  directions  on  a  full  gallop, 
began  the  powder  play,  five  and  ten  firing  at  a  time 
into  the  air,  wheeling  to  left  and  right,  turning 
about  in  their  saddles  in  every  conceivable  manner, 
and  yelling  all  the  while  like  demons.  One  of  them 
whirled  his  gun  around  with  such  rapidity  that  it 
could  hardly  be  seen  ;  another,  as  he  flew  by,  shouted 
in  a  tremendous  voice,  "  Here  comes  the  thunder- 
bolt !"  a  third,  whose  horse  had  swerved  a  little,  came 
within  a  hair's-breadth  of  landing  in  our  midst  and 
throwing  us  all  to  the  ground  with  our  heels  in  the 
air.  At  a  certain  point  the  ambassador  and  captain, 
accompanied  by  Hamed-ben-Kasen  and  a  few  sol- 
diers, separated  from  the  rest  of  the  caravan  and 
went  off  to  make  the  ascent  of  a  mountain  a  few 
miles  away,  while  we  continued  our  route.  A  few 
minutes  later  an  incident  occurred  which  I  am  not 
likely  ever  to  forget. 

A  half-naked  Arab  boy,  about  sixteen  or  eighteen 
years  old,  came  towards  us,  driving  two  recalcitrant 
oxen,  by  the  aid  of  a  heavy  stick.  The  Kaid,  Abou- 
ben-Gileli,  stopped  his  horse  and  called  him.  We 
learned  afterwards  that  the  oxen  were  to  have 
been  attached  to  the  wagon  which  we  had  passed  not 
long  before,  and  that  they  were  several  hours  behind 
time.  The  unfortunate  boy  approached  trembling, 
and  stood  before  the  Kaid,  who  put  some  question 


ZEGGOTA.  237 

to  him  I  did  not  understand.  The  lad  stammered  a 
reply,  and  went  white  as  death. 

"  Fifty  lashes/'  said  the  Kaid  curtly,  turning  to  his 
men. 

Three  powerful  fellows  at  once  leaped  from  their 
horses,  and  the  poor  wretch  without  waiting  for  them 
to  lay  hold  of  him,  without  uttering  a  single  word,  or 
so  much  as  raising  his  eyes  to  the  countenance  of  his 
judge,  threw  himself  flat  on  his  face,  as  the  custom 
is,  with  arms  and  legs  extended.  All  of  this  had 
transpired  in  an  instant ;  but  the  stick  had  not  been 
lifted  in  the  air  before  the  commander  and  some  of 
the  others,  dashing  into  the  midst  of  the  group,  had 
made  the  Kaid  understand  that  they  could  not  think 
of  permitting  such  a  brutal  punishment  to  be  inflicted. 
Abou-ben-Gileli  inclined  his  head,  and  the  boy  arose, 
pale,  with  convulsed  features,  gazing  alternately  at 
his  deliverers  and  the  Kaid  with  an  expression  of 
mingled  fear  and  astonishment. 

"  Go,"  said  the  interpreter,  "  you  are  free." 

"  Ah !"  he  cried  with  an  intonation  that  cannot  be 
conveyed,  and  quick  as  lightning,  disappeared. 

We  proceeded  on  our  way,  but  I  must  say  that, 
although  I  have  seen  a  man  killed,  I  have  never  ex- 
perienced such  feelings  of  profound  horror  as  when  I 
beheld  that  half-naked  boy  stretched  out  on  the 
ground  to  receive  his  fifty  lashes ;  and  after  the  hor- 
ror of  the  thing  my  blood  began  to  boil,  and  I  de- 
nounced the  Kaid,  the  Sultan,  Morocco  and  its  in- 


238  ZEGGOTA. 

humanity  in  the  most  violent  terms.  It  is,  however, 
undoubtedly  better  to  wait  for  second  thoughts.  a  But 
how  about  ourselves  ?"  I  presently  reflected.  "  How 
many  years  is  it  since  we  abolished  whipping  ?  And 
how  many  since  it  was  abolished  in  Austria  ?  and  in 
Prussia  1  and  throughout  the  rest  of  Europe  ?"  These 
thoughts  had  the  effect  of  somewhat  curbing  my 
righteous  indignation,  and  I  was  left  with  only  a 
strong  feeling  of  bitterness.  If  anyone  cares  to 
know  how  whipping  is  conducted  in  Morocco,  suffice 
it  to  say  that  when  the  operation  is  completed  it 
sometimes  happens  that  the  victim  is  carried  to  the 
cemetery. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  ride  to  Zeggota  the 
caravan  passed  over  a  succession  of  hills  and  valleys, 
the  road  running  between  fields  of  wheat  and  barley 
and  bright  green  pasture,  bordered  with  aloes,  In- 
dian figs,  wild  olives,  dwarf  oaks,  ivy,  strawberry- 
trees,  myrtles  and  flowering  shrubs.  Not  a  tent  was 
in  sight,  not  a  living  soul  to  be  seen.  The  country 
was  as  luxuriant,  silent  and  deserted  as  an  enchanted 
garden.  Once  on  reaching  the  top  of  a  certain  hill 
we  descried  the  blue  summits  of  the  Fez  Mountains, 
which,  however,  immediately  disappeared  again  as 
though  they  had  merely  raised  their  heads  a  moment 
to  see  us  pass.  In  the  hottest  part  of  the  day  we 
arrived  at  Zeggota.  This  was  one  of  the  most  ex- 
quisite spots  we  saw  throughout  the  entire  trip.  The 
camp  was  pitched  on  the  mountain-side,  in  a  great 


ZEGGOTA.  239 

rocky  cavity,  shaped  like  an  amphitheatre,  and  worn 
by  the  successive  passage  back  and  forth  of  man  and 
beast  into  innumerable  paths,  one  above  the  other, 
whose  more  or  less  regular  lines  had  the  effect  of 
graduated  seats,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  these  tiers 
were  at  that  very  moment  crowded  with  Arabs,  who 
sat  on  the  ground  in  semicircles,  like  spectators  in 
some  actual  amphitheatre.  Below  us  lay  a  wide, 
basin-shaped  plain,  whose  cultivated  fields  made  it 
look  like  a  huge  checker-board,  with  squares  of  green, 
yellow,  white,  red  and  purple  silk  and  velvet.  Look- 
ing through  field-glasses  we  could  see  on  the  more 
distant  hills  here  a  row  of  tents,  there  a  Tcubba  half- 
hidden  among  the  aloes ;  in  one  place  a  camel,  be- 
yond it  an  Arab  lying  on  the  ground,  a  herd  of  cattle, 
a  group  of  women  5  sluggish,  infrequent  signs  of  life, 
that  made  one  feel  more  forcibly  than  their  entire 
absence  would  have  done  the  profound  peacefulness 
of  the  scene.  Above  all  this  loveliness  a  white,  blaz- 
ing, blinding  sky,  forcing  one  to  bow  his  head  and 
half-close  his  eyes. 

But  it  is  not  so  much  the  beauties  of  nature  that 
make  Zeggota  an  undying  memory  with  me  as  a  cer- 
tain experiment  I  made  there  with  Ttiff. 

Kiff,  let  me  say  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are 
unfamiliar  with  it,  is  the  leaf  of  a  sort  of  hemp  called 
hashish,  celebrated  throughout  the  East  for  its  nar- 
cotic qualities.  It  is  much  used  in  Morocco,  and  it 
may  generally  be  taken  for  granted  that  those  Arabs 


240  ZEGGOTA. 

and  Moors,  so  frequently  to  be  seen  in  the  towns, 
gazing  at  the  passers-by  with  dull,  unseeing  eyes,  or 
dragging  themselves  along  like  persons  stunned  by  a 
blow  on  the  head,  are  victims  of  this  pernicious  plant. 
Most  people  smoke  the  Idff^  mixed  with  a  little  tobacco, 
in  tiny  clay  pipes,  or  it  may  be  eaten  in  a  form  of 
confectionery,  called  madjun^  made  of  butter,  honey, 
nuts,  musk  and  cloves.  The  effects  are  very  peculiar. 
Doctor  Miguerez,  who  had  tried  it,  had  often  told  me 
of  his  experiences,  recounting,  among  other  things, 
how  he  was  seized  with  an  irresistible  desire  to  laugh, 
and  how  he  seemed  to  be  lifted  off  the  ground,  so 
that  in  passing  through  a  doorway,  about  twice  his 
own  height,  he  had  bent  his  head  for  fear  of  striking 
it  against  the  lintel.  All  of  this  so  aroused  my  curi- 
osity that  I  several  times  begged  him  to  give  me  a 
little  piece  of  madjun,  just  enough  to  make  me  see 
and  feel  some  of  these  curious  things  without  abso- 
lutely losing  control  of  myself.  The  worthy  doctor 
at  first  excused  himself,  saying  that  it  would  be  bet- 
ter to  make  the  experiment  at  Fez,  where  we  would 
be  more  conveniently  situated,  but  on  my  persisting 
he  at  length,  a  little  unwillingly,  handed  me  at 
Zeggota  a  plate  on  which  lay  the  much-desired  sweet- 
meat We  were  seated  at  table :  if  I  mistake  not, 
both  Ussi  and  Biseo  took  a  little  at  the  same  time, 
but  of  its  effect  on  them  I  have  no  recollection.  The 
madjun  was  like  a  bit  of  paste,  violet-colored  and 
smelling  like  pomatum.  For  about  half  an  hour,  from 


ZEGGOTA.  241 

the  soup,  that  is,  to  the  fruit,  I  felt  nothing  at  all,  and 
began  to  chaff  the  doctor  about  his  fears,  but  he  only 
smiled  and  said,  "  Wait,  wait."  And  sure  enough,  as 
the  fruit  was  put  on  the  table  the  first  symptoms  of 
intoxication  did  begin  to  manifest  themselves.  At 
first  they  took  the  form  of  great  hilarity  and  rapid 
talking  j  then  I  began  to  laugh  heartily  at  everything 
I  or  any  one  else  said ;  every  word  that  was  uttered 
seemed  to  me  the  most  exquisite  witticism.  I  laughed 
at  the  servants,  at  the  looks  of  my  companions,  at  my 
chair  as  it  tilted  over,  at  the  designs  on  the  china,  at 
the  shapes  of  certain  bottles,  at  the  color  of  the  cheese 
I  was  eating,  until  all  at  once,  becoming  conscious 
that  I  no  longer  had  command  of  myself,  I  endeavored 
to  think  of  something  serious  in  order  to  regain  my 
self-control.  Remembering  the  boy  who  was  to  have 
been  whipped  that  morning,  I  felt  the  greatest  inter- 
est in  him.  I  would  have  liked  to  take  him  back 
with  me  to  Italy,  to  have  him  educated,  to  give  him  a 
career.  I  loved  him  like  a  son.  And  the  Kaid,  Abou- 
ben-Gileli,  poor  old  man.  Kaid-Abou-ben-Gileli  ? 
Why,  I  loved  him  too,  like  a  father.  And  the  soldiers 
of  the  escort !  They  were  all  good  fellows,  ready  to 
defend  us,  to  risk  their  lives  in  our  behalf.  I  loved 
them  like  brothers.  And  then  the  Algerians !  I 
loved  them  as  well.  "  Why  not  ?"  I  thought.  They 
are  of  the  same  race  as  the  Moroccoans,  and  after  all, 
what  race  is  that  ?  Are  we  not  all  brothers,  made 
after  one  pattern  ?  We  should  love  one  another.  I 
VOL.  L— 16 


242  ZEGGOTA. 

love  people,  and  I  am  happy,  and  I  threw  one  arm 
around  the  doctor's  neck,  whereupon  he  burst  out 
laughing.  From  this  cheerful  mood  I  fell  all  at  once 
into  a  state  of  profound  melancholy.  All  the  people 
whom  I  had  ever  offended  rose  up  before  me.  I  re- 
called every  pang  I  had  caused  those  who  loved  me ; 
was  oppressed  by  feelings  of  remorse  and  unavailing 
regret ;  voices  seemed  to  whisper  in  my  ear  in  accents 
of  affectionate  reproach.  I  repented,  begged  for  par- 
don ;  furtively  brushed  away  the  great  tear  which  I 
felt  trembling  in  the  corner  of  one  eye.  Then  a  suc- 
cession of  strange  disconnected  memories  began  to 
course  wildly  through  my  brain ;  long-forgotten 
Mends  of  my  childhood ;  certain  words  of  a  dialect  I 
had  not  spoken  for  twenty  years  ;  women's  faces ;  my 
old  regiment ;  William  the  Silent ;  Paris  ;  the  editor 
Barbera ;  a  beaver  hat  that  I  had  worn  as  a  child ;  the 
Acropolis  at  Athens ;  my  bill  at  an  inn  in  Seville ;  a 
thousand  queer  fancies.  I  have  a  vague  recollection 
of  seeing  the  company  look  at  me  smilingly.  From 
time  to  time  I  would  close  my  eyes  and  reopen  them 
without  knowing  whether  I  had  been  asleep  or  no, 
whether  minutes  or  hours  had  elapsed  in  the  interval. 
Then  a  clear  idea  came  into  my  head  at  last,  and  I 
began  to  speak. 

"  Once,"  I  said,  "  I  went  to  ...  ."  Where  was 
it  I  went  ?  Who  went  ?  It  had  all  escaped  me. 
Thoughts  sparkled  for  an  instant  and  expired  like 
fire-flies — crowded,  mixed,  confused.  At  one  moment 


ZEGGOTA.  243 

I  saw  Ussi  with  his  head  elongated,  like  the  reflection 
in  a  bad  mirror  j  the  vice-consul  with  a  face  two  feet 
wide ;  and  the  others  tapered  off,  swelled  out,  contorted, 
like  extravagant  caricatures,  making  grimaces  at  me 
that  were  inexpressibly  comic;  and  I  laughed  and 
wagged  my  head,  and  dozed,  and  thought  that  they 
were  all  crazy  j  that  we  were  in  another  world ;  that 
nothing  I  saw  was  real ;  that  I  was  not  very  well ; 
that  I  did  not  know  where  I  was ;  that  it  was  getting 
strangely  dark  and  silent — .  When  I  came  to  my- 
self I  was  lying  on  my  own  bed  in  our  tent,  with  the 
doctor  seated  beside  me,  holding  a  lighted  candle  and 
regarding  me  attentively. 

"There,"  said  he  smiling,   "it   is  over,  but  this 
must  be  the  first  and  last  time." 


FROM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT. 


(245) 


FKOM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT. 


WHILE  I  am  running  hither  and  thither  looking  for 
my  mule,  which  I  find  at  last  I  really  do  not  know 
how,  squeezed  in  among  the  baggage,  the  embassy 
has  gotten  under  way.  I  would  still  be  able  to  over- 
take it  were  it  not  that  just  as  I  reach  the  entrance 
to  the  camping-ground  my  horse  stumbles  in  descend- 
ing the  rocky  incline,  the  saddle  slips  and  the  writer 
falls ;  it  is  a  good  half-hour  before  I  can  get  every- 
thing properly  adjusted  once  more,  and  meanwhile, 
farewell  embassy.  It  is  evidently  written  that  I  am 
to  continue  the  journey  alone,  followed  only  by  a  lag- 
ging servant,  who,  when  I  am  attacked,  will  come  to 
the  rescue  just  in  time  to  see  me  draw  my  last  breath. 
The  will  of  Allah  be  done  !  The  country  is  deserted, 
the  sky  cloudy  $  every  half-hour  or  so  I  can  see  upon 
the  summit  of  some  distant  hill  a  long,  variegated 
procession,  in  whose  midst  I  recognize  the  ambassa- 
dor's white  horse  and  Selam's  red  caftan,  and  for  a 
few  minutes  do  not  feel  so  utterly  alone  5  but  the 
cavalcade  disappears  and  the  silence  and  solitude  once 
more  fall  upon  me  like  a  pall.  At  about  an  hour's 
distance  from  the  camp  I  meet  a  returning  body  of 

(247)   " 


248  FEOM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT. 

horsemen,  some  dozen  or  so,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  redoubtable  Abou-ben-Grileli,  the  old  Kaid  of  the 
fifty  lashes,  who  throws  a  sinister  glance  at  my  back 
in  passing.  I  smile  deprecatingly  and  hurry  by  on  the 
other  side.  Issuing  from  the  beautiful  valley,  over- 
looked by  our  camp  of  the  night  before,  I  enter 
another  one,  very  large,  shut  in  by  precipitous  hills, 
clothed  with  aloes  and  olives,  forming,  as  it  were, 
great  green  walls  on  the  right  and  left  of  a  wide, 
straight  road,  closed  at  the  lower  end  by  a  curtain  of 
blue  mountains.  Presently  I  meet  some  Arabs,  who 
stop  to  watch  me  pass,  and  gaze  all  about  in  amaze- 
ment at  my  being  unescorted.  Will  they  attack  me, 
or  will  they  not  I  One  of  them  turns,  and  tearing 
off  a  stout  branch  from  a  neighboring  tree,  runs 
towards  me.  It  has  come,  then  !  and  I  stop  my  beast 
and  grasp  my  pistol.  The  man  begins  to  laugh,  and 
holds  the  stick  out,  explaining  that  it  is  intended  to 
aid  me  in  my  efforts  to  get  the  mule  forward.  Just 
then  two  of  the  soldiers  belonging  to  the  escort  ap- 
pear, coming  towards  me  on  a  gallop.  It  seems  that 
after  all,  my  hour  has  not  come.  The  soldiers  place 
themselves  on  either  side  of  me  and  fall  to  prodding 
my  beast  with  the  barrels  of  their  guns,  at  the  same 
time  crying,  "  Embasciador,  Embasciador."  The  am- 
bassador has  sent  them  back  to  see  what  has  become 
of  me.  They  deserve  some  reward,  so  I  stop  and 
offer  them  a  bottle  of  wine  I  happen  to  carry  in  my 
pocket.  They  do  not  say  either  yes  or  no,  but  re- 


fifty  lafhea,  who  thrown  a  fciivLs**.-r  ebiiu  i-  at  my  back 
in  powsing.  I  smile  deprecating! j  and  hurry  by  on  lit® 
other  side.  Issuing  from  the  beautiful  valley ?  pver- 
kx>ked  by  our  camp  of  the  night  before,  I  enter 
.uiiOther  one,  very  large,  shut  in  by  precipitous  Mis, 
clotlied  with  aloes  and  olives,  forming,-  as  it  were? 
great  green  walls  on  the  right  and  left  of  a  wide, 
straight  road,  closed  at  the  lower  end  by  a  curtain  of 
blue  mountains.  Presently  I  moot  some  Arabs,  who 
stop  to  watch  me  puss,  aud  ga/:e  all  about  in  amaze- 
ment ftl  my  bevnj:  v,jv^;-<>rt?--d.  Will  they  attack  me, 
or  wili  ifc»-y  *-  '  -  (iii>ni  turns,  and  tearing 

off   a  e£&ot    -'.-i-Mn    M--^    &  ii«%h^>nog  tree,  runs 

-••    ;.   " 


aid  me  in  my  efforts  i»a  g*  -  t^e  t> 

then  two  of  the  soldiers  belonging  u»  the  < 

pear?  coming  towards  me  on  &  gallop.     It  seems  that 

after  all,  my  hour  has  not  come.     The  soldiers  place 

themselves  on  either  side  of  me  and  fall  to  prodding 

my  beast  with  the  barrels  of  their  guns,  at  the  same 

time  crying,  u  Embastiador,  £!mbctsciadt>r"     The  an> 

bassador  has  sent  them  back  to  see  what  has  b- 

.     They  deserre  some  reward,  so  I  stop  and 
of  wine  I  happen  to  carry  in  my 

es  or  no,  bw 
On  the  Way  to  Market 


FKOM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT.  249 

gard  one  another  smilingly,  giving  me  to  understand 
by  signs  that  they  have  never  tasted  any.  "  Try  it," 
I  say,  with  an  accompanying  gesture.  One  of  them 
takes  the  bottle,  pours  a  little  into  the  palm  of  his 
hand,  licks  it  up  and  remains  thoughtful  for  a  moment, 
while  the  other  does  the  same.  Then  they  look  at 
each  other,  laugh  and  make  a  motion  of  assent. 
"Well,  drink  it,  then,"  and  they  do,  one  emptying 
half  the  bottle  at  a  gulp  and  the  other  finishing  it ; 
each  then  places  a  hand  on  his  breast  and  gazes 
heavenward,  with  an  expression  of  intense  approba- 
tion. We  resume  our  journey,  now  and  then  meet- 
ing parties  of  men,  women  and  children,  all  of  whom 
regard  me  with  the  same  look  of  amazement ;  finally 
one  asks  a  question,  receiving  a  quick  negative  sign 
from  the  soldiers,  and  I  am  able  to  make  out  that 
they  suppose  me  to  be  under  arrest ;  the  man  had 
said,  "  There  goes  a  Christian  who  has  robbed  the 
ambassador."  Some  villages  of  white  houses  crown 
the  summits  of  the  hills  flanking  the  valley.  The 
Jcitbbas  become  more  frequent,  as  well  as  the  palm 
and  fruit-trees,  and  the  flowering  oleanders  and  roses. 
The  whole  country  is  a  vivid  green,  and  here  and 
there  we  begin  to  notice  indications  that  the  land  is 
divided  into  separate  estates.  At  last  we  enter  a 
gloomy  defile,  winding  between  two  high  walls  of 
rock,  on  coming  out  of  which  we  find  ourselves  at 
the  camp.  We  have  reached  the  banks  of  the 
Mikkes,  an  affluent  of  the  Sebu ;  near  by  is  a  small 


250  FROM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT. 

bridge  of  masonry,  built  sixteen  years  ago,  in  a  basin 
formed  by  a  circle  of  rocky  hills.  The  sky  is  as  gray 
as  a  leaden  roof,  beneath  it  everything  looks  dull  and 
ashy.  The  thermometer  marks  104°,  and  for  seven 
hours  no  one  stirs  out  of  his  tent,  while  the  only 
sounds  to  break  through  the  close  oppressive  atmos- 
phere are  the  singing  of  the  crickets  and  the  twang 
of  Ducali's  guitar  j  a  profound  sense  of  dullness 
weighs  every  one  down,  but  towards  evening  all  this 
is  changed.  A  light  shower  freshens  up  the  air ;  some 
brilliant  sunbeams  shine  through  the  opening  of  the 
gorge  like  an  electric  current,  gilding  half  the  camp ; 
couriers  arrive  from  Fez,  and  others  from  Tangier ; 
curious  villagers  approach ;  two-thirds  of  the  caravan 
plunge  into  the  river ;  and  dinner  is  furthermore  en- 
livened by  the  arrival  of  a  new  personage,  come  from 
the  great  city  of  the  Sherifs — a  Moor  named  Shellal, 
still  another  protege  of  the  Italian  legation,  who  has 
a  lawsuit  pending  with  the  Sultan's  Government  the 
most  voluminous  turban,  the  roundest  face,  the  bless- 
edest,  greasiest  type  of  a  Moor  we  have  encountered 
since  leaving  Tangier.  The  next  morning  we  are 
off  at  daybreak,  escorted  only  by  the  forty  soldiers 
under  Hamed  Ben  Kasen ;  a  revolt  has  broken  out 
in  the  provinces  bordering  on  Algeria,  and  all  the 
cavalry  of  the  district  of  Fez  has  been  dispatched 
against  the  rebels.  "  We  shall  see  a  great  many 
heads  on  the  gates  of  Fez,"  observed  Ducali.  For 
two  hours  we  journeyed  on  among  the  hills,  through 


FBOM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT.  251 

broom  and  lentisks ;  then  we  came  out  on  the 
vast  plain  of  Fez,  encircled  by  hills  and  mountains, 
yellow  with  grain,  sprinkled  over  with  large  duars, 
traversed  by  the  Slue  Fountain  river — which  flows 
into  the  Mikkes,  and  by  the  River  of  Pearls,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Sebu,  which  runs  through  the  sacred  city 
of  the  Empire  ;  overflown  by  crowds  of  cranes,  wild- 
geese,  turtle-doves,  partridges  and  herons  ;  luxuriant 
in  its  vegetation,  bathed  in  light,  peaceful  and  smil- 
ing as  an  enormous  garden.  We  pitched  our  tents 
on  the  bank  of  the  Blue  Fountain  river,  and  the 
hours  flew  by  enlivened  by  hunting,  visits  to  the 
duars,  the  accounts  brought  to  us  by  Fez  Jews  of  the 
grand  preparations  the  army  were  making,  emis- 
saries from  court  bringing  us  the  Sultan's  greeting, 
Arab  families  fording  the  river  single-file,  first  the 
camel,  then  the  men,  then  the  women,  carrying  the 
children  on  their  backs,  then  the  boys,  then  the  dogs 
swimming,  caravans  going  by,  crowds  of  sight- 
seers collected  around  the  camp,  an  enchanting  sun- 
set, and  the  most  brilliant  night  ever  beheld  by  the 
eye  of  mortal  man. 

En  route  again  by  daybreak,  once  more  the  road 
takes  us  among  the  hills,  then  winds  down  into  the 
plain  beneath,  where  it  runs  between  two  steep  banks 
which  effectually  shut  out  the  view.  All  at  once  a 
resounding  voice  is  heard,  "  There  is  Fez  !"  Every 
one  stops  short.  Directly  in  front  of  us,  several 
miles  away,  and  just  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  we 


252  FKOM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT. 

can  see  a  great  forest  of  towers,  minarets  and  palm- 
trees,  slightly  veiled  in  mist.  A  joyful  "  We  have 
arrived !"  breaks  forth  simultaneously  from  every 
mouth,  in  Italian,  Spanish,  French,  Arabic,  Genoese, 
Sicilian,  Neapolitan,  and  to  the  first  wondering  silence 
a  buzz  of  conversation  succeeds.  Starting  off  once 
more,  we  proceed  to  our  last  camping-ground,  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Tgh'at,  on  the  banks  of  the  River  of 
Pearls,  an  hour  and  a  half  from  Fez.  Here  through- 
out the  entire  day  there  is  a  bustle,  a  coming 
and  going,  that  make  it  seem  like  the  headquarters 
of  an  army  in  action.  Messengers  arrive  from  the 
Sultan,  from  the  chief  minister,  from  the  head-master 
of  ceremonies,  from  the  Governor  of  Fez  ;  officers, 
major-domos,  merchants,  relatives  of  the  Moors  in  the 
caravan,  all  well-dressed,  spruce,  ceremonious,  bring- 
ing with  them  an  aroma  of  the  court  and  metropolis, 
and  conversing  in  measured  tones  and  with  stately 
gestures  of  the  great  army,  the  enormous  crowds,  the 
enchanting  palace  awaiting  us.  Eight  o'clock  of  the 
following  morning  is  the  hour  appointed  for  our  en- 
trance into  the  city.  By  daybreak  every  one  is 
afoot,  there  is  a  great  stir  among  the  razors,  clothes- 
brushes,  combs  and  curry-combs,  and  a  delightful  ex- 
citement that  more  than  atones  for  all  the  fatigues  of 
the  journey.  The  ambassador  dons  his  gold-laced 
hat,  Hamed  Ben  Kasen  his  dress  sword,  Selam  a  pink 
caftan,  Civo  a  green  handkerchief,  which  he  winds 
about  his  head — a  sure  indication  of  the  approach  of 


FKOM  ZEGGOTA  TO  TGH'AT.  253 

some  very  great  solemnity ;  all  the  servants  put  on 
white  cloaks,  all  the  soldiers  of  the  escort  bring  out 
their  shiniest  weapons,  all  the  Italians  draw  forth  the 
most  elegant  clothing  their  trunks  contain.  We 
number  about  a  hundred,  all  counted,  and  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  Italy  has  never  been  represented  by  an 
embassy  more  oddly  made  up,  more  gayly  colored, 
more  joyously  expectant,  or  more  impatiently  awaited, 
than  this  one.  The  weather  is  superb,  the  horses 
stamp,  the  Jia/iks  wave  in  the  morning  breeze,  every 
face  beams,  and  every  eye  is  fixed  upon  the  ambas- 
sador, who  counts  the  minutes  on  his  watch.  Eight 
o'clock !  At  a  sign  we  all  leap  to  our  saddles,  and 
at  last  are  off. 

Ah,  what  a  thing  it  is  to  stay  a  child  always !     I 
can  feel  my  heart  thump. 


pill. 

A     000  131  257 


•Si 


^ 


